


Nightmared

by Chainlocker



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Blood, Blood Drinking, Comfort, Consensual Sex, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I swear this thing is going to have a happy ending, I'm so sorry Verun, Julian is baby, Masochism, Mild Gore, Other, Panic Attacks, Self-Hatred, Smut, Suicidal Thoughts, Vampires, Violence, a vampire au I wasn't expecting, ahahahaha this ended up having plot whoops, it's not too graphic but there is some blood, oh no this might actually end up having plot, oof sorry Verun you're the source of the angst this time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2020-10-20 16:15:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 55,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20678252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chainlocker/pseuds/Chainlocker
Summary: Verun chose to be turned, offering her magical abilities in return for a body free of the plague as it swept through Vesuvia. Three years later, she has returned to Vesuvia as a monster, with new secrets and new fears - but for the first time, she meets a human that doesn't seem to fear her.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wasn't expecting to actually write a vampire AU but here I am. The first time I've messed with any vampires EVER and it's for the Arcana. Loosely based off of a headcanon post from @apprenticeofcups on tumblr. I'm dead.

At first Verun thought he was insane. She thought he was actually,  _ impossibly, _ crazy. She watched as he patched up her most recent meal, blinking slowly as they wobbled their way into their home. He just turned around and walked off, missing her shadowed figure entirely.

At first she thought he didn't understand, or didn't believe, as whispers of the vampire roaming the streets started to spread.

But there was no way that he  _ couldn’t _ believe, when he was the one coming across her victims as they wobbled around in a daze, still barely bleeding from puncture wounds in their neck or wrists or arms.

He never seemed afraid of being caught around the people he patched up, his bandaging always neat and precise, always a roll of clean cloth held in a small bag at his side. It was like he knew for a fact that Verun had already fed enough. So she did as she always did, following her victims until they got to their home, or at least til the end of the night to make sure they didn’t come across any trouble. Unless they were one of the few thugs and ruffians she found trying to take advantage of the young orphans and urchins on the streets.

But then he disappeared for a night, not a whiff of him apparent on the streets, and the next thing Verun knew she was following the scent of him to a small wooden home. She peeked in through dark windows and strained to see the warmth of a body, faint as one of the dying might be. Was she concerned? Maybe. She was curious, if anything. Curious of a man that seemed to not fear a vampire.

So she checked both ways up and down the street and held her breath as she cast her magic, silencing the world around her as she pushed open the squealing window and crawled in. The myths around vampires needing to be invited in were just that - myths. Things based off the best vampires, the ones that killed others lesser than themselves. The ones that Verun ran from, after her birthing bloodlust.

In the dark house she peeked around, seeing the dust gathered on the counters and the table and chairs. It looked abandoned, yet lived in. She didn't understand.

And then a gasp of a shout from the top of the stairs and she froze, thinking herself caught. But a sob followed, muffled, and slowly she crept up to the second floor.

The bedroom door was open already, and inside the man she was so curious about writhed among the streets, reaching out and clawing at some unseen assailant. She watched, his eye patch slipping from his face and lost among the pillows as he suddenly threw himself upwards in a panic and fell to the ground with a thud. Then his eyes flew open, tortured and raving, locking onto her form in a second.

She was caught, she knew. He was going to scream, throw the blade she saw at his bedside at her, clamber out the window like she had seen him do before in less dangerous situations.

But her attention was taken by his now exposed features. His eye. His eye was red. Like the plague. The one that nearly took her before she agreed to the terms of complete bloodlust from a passing vampire troupe. It nearly glowed in the low light they found themselves in, and for a moment Verun took in his gaunt, exhausted face with a new appreciation.

"Who are you?" His voice shook, breathing hard.

It took Verun by surprise, the low tone deepened by the hold of sleep, even terror-ridden as it might be. Something in her took comfort in it.

But this wasn't how it was supposed to be. "You need to forget, doctor."

"What?"

She took a step forward, and watched as his body tensed up. "You need to forget me." Verun wasn't supposed to have friends. She was a vampire, she only held the council and company of vampires. Humans were only welcome as part of feeding and communication with the outside world if absolutely necessary.

He looked like he was about to run, get up and bolt. But she moved before him, grabbing him by the hair and pulling his head back as her gaze bored into his eyes. His mouth fell open for a moment, and he looked so scared Verun almost let him go. But then she pressed her other hand to his head, pushing energy and intent into the palm of her hand until his eyes rolled back in his head and his body went limp.

Verun huffed, and hauled him up onto her shoulder only to toss him back onto the bed. She almost left him sprawled out all uncomfortably, but with the way he was twisted and turned… not even a vampire was free of the aches and pains of the body.

So she shuffled him around, tucking his limbs away under the covers. It wasn't like the spell would wear off anytime soon, he'd be asleep until morning, but there was an urgency in her mind to run, get out of the house before she was found. But still she paused, lingering longer to inspect his features. His nose was sharp, maybe a bit larger than the average person's. His lips were more on the thin side. He looked tired even while he slept, the bags under his eyes well-established. His hair was red, but darker than most gingers. More... Auburn. Overall he was attractive, she knew, the eye patch and outfit he usually wore adding a sense of mystery to his outgoing personality.

Verun had to admit, she had been watching him for maybe a hair too long at this point.

Finally she stood up, her footsteps only whispers on the stairs. Out the window and down the street she went, before dawn's light ever kissed the horizon.

~~~

And then she found him again, the next night. He looked healthier now even from afar, his face brighter and more expressive than she had seen. Maybe it was her own worry that led her back to him again, worry that he would remember and start telling tales about the vampire in his room the night before. Would he even remember her as a vampire? Did he see the deep blood red of her eyes? Did he see the tattoos around her throat?

But he didn't tell tales, didn't even mention a person in his room the night before. From afar she heard his friends teasing him, laughing about how good a full night's sleep is for him. Sleep deprivation wasn't such a good look on him, after all.

He laughed until he blushed, color on his cheeks making her hungry. So she turned away to hunt before the night was out, leaving her victim close enough for him to find.

~~~

Verun found herself wandering after him when he disappeared again. A week or two since the last time when she had been caught. He had settled into his routine once again, hanging around shady alleyways and dingy bars until the latest hours of the night, then finding a place to crash. She didn't follow him, but she stayed in the area and crouched in the darkest of shadows, watching for danger that might try to overtake the innocent souls that wandered through the night.

She'd taken down many a thug that tried to use their size against the unwary by now. And somehow the doctor was always near enough to patch them up with a harsh glance at the hands meant for bruising.

He didn't like them either.

But she didn't watch, she _ didn't, _ not as he wrapped them up in a couple of layers of clean cotton fabric, giving tired instructions on how to keep the wounds clean. His words were only husky rumbles to her faraway ears anyway, so it didn't matter. The pouches he carried started to bulge more on the nights she had to feed, but she didn't pay attention to it. He wasn't paying attention to her, after all.

Every five days she went to hunt. Maybe she should only wait for four once, just to see.

And then he disappeared again.

It didn't scare Verun, but… the streets felt different, somehow, without him. They seemed darker to even her inhuman eyes, less garbed by stories and laughter.

She couldn't ask herself why she could pick out his scent among the dozens of others on the street. She had just gotten used to him being around everywhere, that's all. He was the sort of person that got into everyone's business, whether he meant to do so or not, always checking in and teasing stories from people's mouths. He was everywhere.

So she again followed his trail to that old wooden house, slipping in through the window and sitting on the floor of the main room as she sunk into her own thoughts. What was she doing here? There was no reason for her to be checking in on him, they weren’t friends. Verun had no friends.

But something pulled her here, closer to him. And it wouldn't let her go. So she sat there until she heard his nightmarish shouts, pleading with some unknown entity in his dreams. And her body reacted on its own, her feet padding quietly up the stairs, back to that room of his. It seemed a little less dusty than the last time she had been here, no odd barely-there footprints showing on the floor.

Into the bedroom she went, where he was writhing in his bed once more. Once more he nearly flipped himself out of bed with a desperate sob, but this time Verun was there to catch him before he hit the floor. Once again his eye flew open in shock, staring up at her like he was seeing something else, still seeing his nightmares. His hands clutched at her arms, tight almost to the point of bruising, before he collapsed back into the bed with a huff.

"W-who are you? What are you doing here?"

He probably should have been more afraid of an intruder in his home, but Verun supposed that he was too tired and worn out by his nightmares to care at the moment. And she didn't know how to answer. She didn't know who she was to him, she didn't know what she was doing there. Verun just followed the familiar scent of him through the streets on lonely nights, even though she continued to regret doing so. She shouldn't have ever been in this house, this room of his.

"A vampire?"

She was startled out of her thoughts, hands crawling up against her will to cover the sinful tattoos around her throat. They were the giveaway, the things that appeared at her first taste of human blood after being turned into a vampire. A mark she could never run from or hide, her tattoos and her eyes a testament to her sins.

He stared at her with a wide eye, his eye patch still firmly in place this time. But the scent of his fear wasn't present. Instead there was a light of curiosity, a tang of excitement, a look of something almost like wonder on his face. She frowned slightly and leaned forward, putting her hand on his forehead like she had the last time.

"Please… forget me."

He opened his mouth to speak a moment before a wave of magic washed through her and into him, and with a quiet sigh he flopped back into the sheets. Verun stared at him, a hole opening up in her chest as she allowed herself to ache for just a moment for the loss of his voice, before she fixed the sheets around him and left.

He needed the sleep anyway.

~~~

"I… wait, do I remember you? I swear I know you."

This was bad.

"Where have I seen you before? Were you in the market today…?"

He hadn't seen her tattoos yet, her eyes. But he would soon enough if he kept inspecting her like this, bloodshot eye flickering over her features in the dark.

This was so,  _ so _ bad. But Verun had been stupid and curious again, and even when she didn't intend on seeing him again she couldn't resist when she heard nightmared cries, just outside the house this time, through the window upstairs. She didn't know why she still had the instinct to comfort.

But when he stepped forward, advancing across the room and reaching out to her, she panicked. A hand was pressed to his forehead to stop him, and he was asleep in her arms before she had time to properly think.

So back to bed he went.

~~~

The next time she knew that she was doing it for her own hedonistic wants.

This time she didn't really wait for the nightmares to start.

This time she peeked in through the door from the top of the stairs and saw him staring into the dark, his gaze blank. Spaced out.

But it was there.

A brief glimmer of recognition and then his eyes slid closed as he took a deep breath. And then he rolled over, facing away from the door.

It was a bad idea.

The worst idea.

But Verun crept forward to the silent invitation, stopping with a whisper of the creak of a wooden floorboard.

"What's your name?"

His voice startled her, quiet as it was. She nearly fled down the stairs and back out into the night. But the way he went so completely still made it seem like he was trying to calm her, like she was a wild animal he was trying to coax closer. He stopped breathing for a moment, before she stepped forward with a slow slide of her foot. She didn't answer.

"Why were you here last night?"

Another step. Another question without an answer. Her mind spun.

He remembered? How?

"I don't think you're here to harm me."

Not a question. A statement. Verun slid just a little closer and saw the way his body shuddered, just barely - like he was expecting a touch, a hand of hurt.

"... No."

A nervous laugh, and she could see what she thought was his tongue licking his lips. "No to what?"

"I'm not here to hurt you."

"Then why are you here?"

"... I don't know." Her voice was barely a whisper as she stopped at the edge of the bed.

"What's your name?"

"You need to forget."

"Is that what you tried to do last night? Make me forget?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't it work?"

"I don't know."

He huffed and turned his face into the pillow. "I still don't know your name," he said, muffled.

"You don't need to."

"What if I want to though?"

She paused, staring at him. He was insistent. "You know what I am?"

"I… what? Is that a question of do I know already or like, 'how do you know?'"

"Do you know what I am?"

He took a deep breath in… and let it out slowly. She could smell his fear, a sharp little tang in the air that read as desperation.

"Yeah, I know. You're a vampire, right?"

And then her feet carried her out the door and down the street. She feared the man that didn't fear her enough to run. A hunter, her mind cried. Trying to lure you closer. But the way he laid still and quivered… could he truly be one of them?

~~~

She found her way back just before morning, a foolish move made by a rattled mind.

He looked up at her as she came through the door, his hair a ruffled mess. He was still in his sleeping clothes. Had he been pacing? The way he looked to be sweating told her maybe.

"You're back?" His eyes were wide as he slowly walked over, again giving Verun the impression that he was treating her like a cornered animal. Like he didn't know exactly how dangerous she could be. "I didn't think you'd…”

"I shouldn't be," she said, eyes wide and panicked. Dawn was bright to her already, creating an artificial anxiety as her eyes hunted for the darkest spaces in the room. And unfortunately,  _ he _ felt like the darkest place, with his charcoal-colored clothes. It held her in place, split between burying her head into the folds of fabric or running out the door and away from her regretful actions once more.

And then he set his hands on her shoulders, and Verun was truly frozen in place as she stared up at him.

"A-are you a-" She stared up at him, the anxiety building as light brushed the top of his auburn hair. "Are you a hunter?"

He blinked and went as still as her for a few moments. "I- a hunter? Like, a vampire hunter? No… what made you think that? I'm just a doctor."

She looked down and nodded, letting her nervousness drain out of her. The light didn't seem so bright now that she was calmer, her eyes adjusting properly. But still, she could feel a migraine coming on.

So without much of a thought she leaned forward and pressed her face into his shirt.

And she regretted that, too. He… smelled good. Phenomenally good. Not in a way that made her hungry, her body boiling for blood. It was a mix of leather and sea salt and coffee and something unmistakably  _ him _ that relaxed her to an alarming degree. Or at least, it should have alarmed her. The smell of him distracted her mind, the texture of his clothes, the feeling of his body as he breathed. His clothes were nice, maybe not expensive but well-worn. Soft from years of washing and wear, his scent soaked into the fabric.

And then she felt a quiver through the contact she had with him and looked up. It was like for a second, she was groggy and drunk on his scent, his closeness. She reached up and grabbed onto his shirt, pulling it around her face to shelter herself in the darkness it gave, drowning further into him. He was staring back at her with wide eyes, lips trembling, his cheeks slowly blushing with color. He was pretty like this - close up, looking startled and scared, frozen in the grip of a predator such as herself. She finally saw the fear, the breaking point, the way he was tensed up to run. For a moment she wanted to tug him down, hold him still as teeth grazed over his skin, not biting but threatening...

"Do you… need something?"

".......... Migraine. Your shirt is dark. It helps."

"Oh!" He nodded and stepped back, pulling her with him. It made her head lurch, she definitely wasn't used to anyone leading her around. "Here, there's-" a grunt as he smacked a loose board a bit above his head with the side of his fist, and the wall popped open. "I got just the right thing for you."

He pulled the wall-door open and led her into a small room. There was a bed in one corner, a desk across the room from it. Cozy, she would think, if not for the shelves at the wall with jars filled with muddy liquid and squirming shapes that made her stomach clench unpleasantly.

"Here, you can stay in here for as long as you need, I have a couple of recipes that should help with the pain," as he spoke he untangled his shirt from her grip and shuffled around, pulling on little handles that stuck out from the walls. She hadn't even noticed them, but as he continued on the room gradually darkened until it was near pitch black, even for Verun's sensitive eyes. It was a relief to her aching head and racing heart.

"Is this good enough?"

"Yes."

"Good, good… I can go make that remedy if you want, and again feel free to stay for as long as you like."

"Just for the day. I need to get home by the end of the night. I don't need the remedy."

"Ah, well… alright. I'll… see you around then?"

Verun nodded, then gave a grunt when she realized that he wouldn't have seen that. He flashed an awkward smile and then shuffled back out into the house proper. She sat on the bed and closed her eyes, listening intently to the sounds of his footsteps as he moved around the house. He hadn't gotten any sleep that night, he should've been exhausted. And yet he just seemed a bit… eccentric. But maybe that was the norm for him, she hadn't truly been getting close enough to him to know. Just watching through windows and from down the street, listening to roars of laughter from his many companions.

Did she miss that? The feeling of being around people? It didn't make sense to her, she was a vampire, she didn't the companionship of anyone else. Much less a human.

But the smell of him, the drunken haze that still threatened to overtake her in this small room that was covered in him and his trinkets… it kept her there, a moth drawn to a flame until it burned. Dangerous. The man was dangerous, she was staying in his home, he was letting her. There must be something in his scent that was made to calm her, leave her defenseless while he gathered friends to kill the vampire that had been prowling Vesuvia for far too long. He wasn't afraid of her, not like he should have been. He didn't scramble away from her and scream for help, he... Just stayed with his fear scent, pushing boundaries.

~~~

She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, but now she was laying over the blankets and sweating, uncomfortably warm. It felt like the room had been filled with hot rocks, a fire lit in the room as heat seeped closer. Verun crawled out of her clothes without a thought and laid on her back, chest heaving. Every inch of her skin pressed against the bed felt like it was scalding her, but she didn't have the energy to move.

Her mind drifted, incoherent and addled, a mess of sparking nerves that ached for relief, the cool touch of the wind.

And then the door-wall opened, letting in a blissful breeze, and Verun tilted her head to the side. Night air. Her eyes were closed but she could smell him coming closer, words that sounded like mumbles falling from his lips. And then a hand pressed to her forehead and she nearly gasped - it felt so cold, so good on her overheated skin. She reached out to him, pulling his cool body closer, trying to reach through too-hot layers to find more skin.

"Ah- jeez, you're burning up. How'd you get so warm? I thought vampires were supposed to be like... Cool all the time with the whole 'technically undead' thing..." his arms looped around her and lifted her, his voice in her ear now. "Come on, let's get you upstairs, I'll put you by the window."

Out of the room everything felt cold, too cold, ice on top of her fire-laden skin. She shuddered as a small moan slipped from her lips, and she couldn’t even track where he was taking her through the house. She was in a haze of pain, suddenly too cold but too hot, burning and freezing all at once as she cried in pain. The only relief was the midpoint, Julian’s hands on her as her body’s heat fluctuated wildly. 

And then he set her down on scalding-cold sheets once again and she weakly writhed. This hadn’t happened since she was newly reborn, learning to manage her temperature like the child she was. It hurt, it burned, too cold and too hot and lost in a blinding wave.

Verun reached out and pulled him, too harsh, closer, pressing his hand to her cheek, opening her eyes and staring at him like everything around was a void whistling around her. His skin, the soft, calm cool of him. Just right, just what she needed to readjust. And then she moved his hand from her cheek down to her neck, her gaze refusing to focus.

“Are you okay? Do you need something colder?”

“No, no, you…” Her voice was weak, barely a croak as she slid her hand up into his sleeves. “Skin…”

That seemed to make him understand, and though she whined pitifully as he pulled away, she watched him strip off his jacket, and then his shirt. And then he approached once more, suddenly shy about touching her bare body. But she needed it, she needed the relief.

So she grabbed him, nails digging into him as she hauled him closer until he fell upon her body, his skin pressing to hers. There were still too many layers with his pants still on, but it was better this way than before, and she couldn’t go without him again, not for much longer. The pain eased slower where he wasn’t, but with her torso leading the way her bottom half followed soon enough.

The pain slowly eased, her body slowly finding the proper temperature through him until she was swimming in a sea of blankness, darkness pressing in on her senses. She was tired.

“Are you alright?” His voice spoke to her, and Verun found her eyes opening. She wasn’t sure when they had closed.

“Almost,” she whispered. “It still hurts.”

“Hurts? You were burning up, did something happen to you?”

She let her eyes close again. “Body temperature got out of control… I was too hot, and the cold was too cold… your body was an in between.”

“Ah. Sorry, I didn’t realize that you’d overheat in that room.”

“Vampires do overheat. We’re not completely undead.”

“Yeah, I… guess I realize that now.” She felt him move against her, propping himself up as he brushed a hand across her cheek. “I guess… well, vampires are much different than what we think, I presume?”

“Almost definitely. I had to learn when I first…” She trailed off and sighed, opening her eyes once more to look at him. He was staring at her, his gaze thoughtful and curious as he inspected her maroon eyes, the runed ribbons tattooed onto her skin that wrapped around her throat, down her torso and the beginnings of her limbs.

“When you were first turned?” He pursed his lips for a moment, cupping her cheek. “Can… can I do something?”

Verun narrowed her eyes. He couldn’t do anything to her, she knew. Unless he had weapons hidden around the room, in which case she had walked into a trap for a fourth time - and he still hadn’t done anything about it.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you. Promise.”

“... Fine.”

He smiled a little, though he looked a little hesitant, a little flustered. But before she could think about it, his head lowered to hers and their lips met in a gentle but slow kiss. Verun froze.

But he pulled away, his cheeks flushing as he looked across the room to the wall. “Sorry, I- ah, shit.”

“What?”

He looked embarrassed now, keeping his eyes away from her as he continued to blush. If he continued with that it would make her hungry…

“Is it weird if I’ve always just kind of wanted… to kiss a vampire?”

“Yes?” She answered, confused beyond belief. Who would want to kiss a vampire? Who would want to risk that danger with a ravenous, blood-sucking monster, when it was all too likely that they would use the opportunity to feed?

And once again, he looked flustered. But now he glanced up at her and swallowed, his throat bobbing in time with it. “Can… I? Again? I’ve just- jeez, I know I’m weird. I’ve just always been interested in what th-the fangs feel like, and-”

Verun narrowed her eyes once more, but again she nodded. It felt nice when he touched her - and now that she wasn’t in such excruciating pain anymore she was again feeling that touch of drunken relaxation that came with his scent. She was curious if he tasted any different, if his tongue was any more clever than his words.

And this time when he kissed her, his fingers trailed exquisite lines into her hair, calming her and drawing her closer as a blindingly warm tongue swiped across her lips. He was gentle, but insistent, probing at her teeth with curiosity until he found the points of her fangs. And then he delved deeper until he met her tongue - it felt so  _ familiar, _ dangerously so - warmth shocking through her system like a bolt of lightning, thunder rumbling in her throat as she growled. He pressed closer to her and  _ oh, _ she wanted him-

Before she knew it herself, she was on top of him, a hand on his throat as her body pulsed with heat once more. This time it wasn’t agonizing, it was  _ demanding, _ arousal coursing through her veins like fire, popping in her fingertips.

She could smell his fear as he stared up at her, his chest heaving at the sudden turn of events - but then she got a barely-there whiff of his arousal, and it nearly wrecked her. It made her head feel fuzzy, thoughts heady as she tried not to breathe and take in whatever it was that made her feel like this around him. He was a new danger that she was finding out every time he was close - he was a growing addiction, fuel for a fire that she struggled to contain. She wanted to  _ devour _ him, her hunger rearing its head as she held him down with an arm that was too strong for her size.

Verun’s pupils dilated, her hand tightening around his throat like she was trying to control her own urges. His eyes rolled back in his head as a small noise crawled out of him, and then she was gone.

Down the stairs, stumbling on legs that felt too stiff, reeling in the wake of her own reaction to him. She was panicked, shaky and uncertain, nearly running straight out the door before he came after her.

“Wait!” He gasped, reaching out to her. His touch was so hard to resist, as she yanked herself away she crashed against the wall and slid down slightly. Her body was shaking with the effort of not just pinning him down, or up against the wall, feeding until she was satisfied. It hadn’t been that long since she had found a victim to drink from, she shouldn’t be so damn hungry. “Wait, you- you need your clothes. Please, don’t run yet.”

“Can’t,” she croaked. “Dangerous.”

“Do you think your clothes will be too warm?”

She shook her head. “Dangerous for you. I’m-” A whine built in her throat and she shook her head.  _ “Shit, _ I’m starved, I’m so hungry-”

Verun watched as he paused, his face turning pale. A thrill ran through him - if she couldn’t smell it she could damn near see it in the way he shuddered. He was insane.

“Then… you can feed from me. Is that what you need?”

Her mouth fell open for a moment, and she saw the way his gaze caught onto the sight of her fangs. “I- are you- do you  _ want _ me to?”

“Maybe?” His voice was an embarrassed squeak. He wasn’t even  _ afraid _ anymore, he was just awkward and curious and apparently fucking  _ horny _ like some sort of madman. “I mean I will totally let you if you really need it, I have medical stuff here that I can patch myself up with-”

“You’d just let a vampire drink your blood? When I’m half starved? I don’t know if I could even control myself once I start! You could die!” Verun’s voice hitched slightly. She was so damn confused as to why anyone would be asking to be bitten, unless they thought that being turned would actually give them immortal life. It didn’t, in fact - just prolonged life far past any human’s years.

“You haven’t left any of your past victims that drained though, and as far as I know this is the shortest time between feedings that you’ve had.” He flushed intensely, looking away.

That stunned Verun to silence for a moment, all of her own feelings forgotten. “You… you’ve been paying attention?”

“Well yeah, everybody kind of has been since the attacks have started. I’ve just been taking care of the people you end up feeding off of…”

So apparently she wasn’t the only one watching out for a stranger. Her mouth opened again and he stepped forward, raising a hand towards her. But he didn’t touch, or come too near to her.

“I… uh. I’m Julian, by the way. Just thought that maybe you’d want to know.”

She stared at his hand for a moment, offered forward for her to shake. But she knew the moment she touched him her teeth would be sunk into his skin, so she resisted the urge for just a second or two longer.

“My name is Verun,” she murmured, before grabbing his hand and tugging him closer. He came easily until she was sandwiched between him and the wall, though she was far from trapped. Again, with him so close it felt like she was losing her grip on her actions, giving in more to instinct than anything. This felt just as much like a hunt as any creeping through alleyways that she had done before.

But with his flesh so close under her fangs waiting to bite, she shied away from his neck. Instinct guided her, blood thrumming through her as she drowned in his scent.

And instead her teeth dug in just under his clavicle, glancing and sliding over his skin and opening up shallow cuts. His breath stalled in his throat, and he pressed a hand to the wall behind her as he shuddered. This was different than what she usually did, and Verun was fairly certain that he knew that as well. Blood welled up in the cuts and her tongue laved over the wounds to lick it up.

Again she could smell the taint of arousal in his scent, and in a rush of movement she had him pushed up against the wall, nipping another mark just below the hollow of his throat. This time a moan echoed in his chest and he leaned into her, needy as she continued to mark him with her teeth, taking the blood that oozed out.

Verun returned to the place that her first mark had been made, confused to see that the blood that had spilled was still there - but the cuts themselves, the odd slash her teeth made on the skin of his chest, was gone. She glanced up further to see an oddly glowing mark on Julian’s throat, and as she watched the other cuts that she had left were healing rapidly, closing up with no more than the blood that dripped from them to know where they had been. Maybe that’s why the doctor had offered up his body so willingly in the middle of her bloodlust, outside of his apparent love of pain.

So she stretched to bite into the top of his shoulder, blood springing up rapidly there. He nearly screamed at the feeling of her fangs buried in his skin, but his arms pulled her closer as his hips ground up into hers, his bottom half still clothed. Verun let her eyes close, blood rushing into her mouth, encouraged by the slightest of squeezes that her jaw gave.

“Ah- hah, fuck, Verunnn…” His voice shook, warbling as his head leaned against hers, jostling her slightly and pulling a hiss out of him. “Verun, c-can I-”

She knew what he was asking, and carefully she pulled her mouth off of him, licking at the wound as it continued bleeding. It took her a few pauses, a few glances, but she managed to undo the knots of the laces that held his trousers tight around his hips. His own shaking hands managed to shove them down his thighs until his cock sprang free of the trappings of clothing, and Verun growled as he wrapped a hand around himself.

An unexpected rush of some sort of possessiveness crashed over her, and she pulled his hands to his side, pulling him away from the wall before she cleanly tripped him, shoving him down onto his back. Push-pull-push, forcing him into the position she wanted until he was propped up on his elbows, head hanging back slightly as he watched her, eyes hazed over with some mess of arousal and fear and wanting.

“Oh please, oh god Verun-” his voice devolved into a moan as she bit into the crown of his shoulder, before it hitched and rumbled and warbled into pants and shudders. His voice was beautiful, and she let up if only to hear it again. She took his cock in hand and ran her fingers over it, slow but firm, listening to his incoherent ramblings break through his lips.

And then she lined him up with her entrance, Verun herself surprised at the slickness she now felt between her thighs, and slowly sank down onto him. She let out her own little moan at the feeling of it, overwhelmed but burning with her own need.

When he was sheathed all the way to the hilt inside of her, she leaned forward and laid herself on top of him, thighs flexing and shifting to roll her hips. She gave a few experimental bounces that made Julian almost physically fall apart, his body shuddering and trying to thrust into her even as he held both of them up in a rather uncomfortable position. But that wouldn't do. So Verun pulled his arms away out from under him, letting him fall back with a grunt.

But she couldn't bite and move on top of him at the same time as much as it frustrated her, so she placed a hand on his throat and  _ squeezed, _ tight but careful all the same as she growled.  _ "Move," _ she said, voice dropping into something that read as a threat.

But Julian didn't need the encouragement as his hips snapped up with enough force that it whisked the breath out of her lungs. He let out a weak, keening moan at the feeling, his air cut off in a way that sent his head reeling in a way that he enjoyed so much. Verun held him down as she pleased, biting into his shoulder and leaving marks and cuts on his chest and lapping up all the blood he gave until he felt lightheaded.

She nearly startled when he tapped her wrist, halfway through a moan as the metallic taste sparked on her tongue once more, and her grip on him released without a thought. He only took a moment to gasp a breath in before his voice rose in volume, and if Verun thought she was being loud, Julian was nearly  _ deafening _ with his cries of pleasure in her ear. His hands skipped across her skin and she felt so warm, blindingly hot as she chased the heat of his skin, chased the pleasure his body gave.

"Ffffffu- ah! Oh, Verun,  _ ple-e-ease, _ god!" He was panting, his own breathing breaking his desperate sentences, his hands settling on her hips to drive her down to his own with little movements as he set his feet against the floor, thrusts starting to piston in and out of her. "Verun, oh god- hah, y-you feel-  _ fuck _ you feel so good- I'm so close! I'm so close, it's so- so good-"

She moaned low in her throat in response, sliding a hand into his hair and  _ pulling _ his head back, trying so hard to not hurt him. And then she pressed her lips to his, lips still salted and slick with his own blood, but even as his words were silenced his moans still rang out among the walls of his home. Verun pressed him closer, tongue tangling with his until she bit into his lip, blood taunting their mouths in earnest.

With that he gasped, his body shuddering to a stop even as his hips still weakly snapped up into her. Verun felt the sudden slow, the ebb as his passion flowed out of him. A spell was on her lips in a few moments as she rested her forehead against his, making sure nothing would come of this round of sex. Nothing but pleasure.

Julian went still for several moments before rousing himself enough to kiss her, almost surprising Verun. "I uh… wow." His voice was quiet, full of wonder as his lazy gaze traveled over her face. "Are you feeling better?"

Verun stared at him before slowly nodding. "It was good… thank you, Julian."

He smiled and ran a hand down her spine, fingers surprisingly warm. In fact, all of him was warm at the moment, enough that Verun was worried that he would make her overheat again. But he seemed to be cooling down rather quickly after everything, and as Verun stumbled upwards and to her feet, she felt fine. It was as if the heat she felt during the act was an imaginary fire, something to trick her.

She stood there, looking down at Julian as he stared back up at her with a small smile. He looked beautiful when he smiled, absolutely stunning as his teeth flashed gleefully in the darkness of night.

"Verun. I like that name."

She flushed a little, annoyingly, and looked away. "... Yeah?"

"Yeah. It's a good name." And then he pulled up his trousers and pushed himself up to stand on his knees, pressing kisses to one of her hips, trailing his lips across her belly to get to the other hip. "A good name for a phenomenal woman."

Verun flushed more, running her hands through his sweaty waves of hair. She tugged insistently, looking away with a forlorn expression - she didn't deserve those compliments from him, so heartfelt and sincere. "I'm a monster, Julian. Nothing more."

He hummed against her skin and pushed himself up further to stand in front of her, a finger hooked beneath her chin. "Oh, Verun. Don't say such things, please. I've barely known you a day or so, and I think I can say that you're no monster. No more than I am."

"If you say so."

"I do say so, my dear."

"..."

"Don't pout, oh please. You're too cute."

Verun leaned back a little as Julian cupped her cheek, and he paused for just a moment before his fingers brushed over the damning tattoos that ran over her skin. He leaned close, closer, until his lips pressed to the first rune, where her blood had been drained to turn her into this creature that she was. A vampire, a killer in the night. A nightmare to all, except for one. She didn't understand him.

But she forced herself to go still, until he pulled away, biting his lip nervously. He was cute like that, nervous and soft-

"Will you spend the night with me?"

So timid. Verun shouldn't feel so giddy with it, like a schoolgirl being asked to dance for the first time. She wanted to refuse, to gather her clothes and steal off back to her dwelling out in the cool, lush forest- but the way he looked at her, shy and hopeful, awaiting the denial that would inevitably come, it was impossible to resist.

She let out a soundless sigh, closing her eyes for a moment. "... Okay."

When she opened her eyes again he was smiling at her, eye shining and eager. But as she stared at him it became apparent that there was something wrong with his appearance - so she righted it. She reached up to his faces and plucked his eye patch off without a warning to him, sweeping forward and pressing a kiss to his newly exposed eyelid. He stopped for a moment and started at her as she leaned back, his red eye fixed on her as well.

"Verun, I-I can explain-"

"The plague. I know." She frowned slightly. "The cure was found shortly after… after I turned. I thought that the color left the victim's eyes, but-"

"It should. But for whatever reason it didn't for me." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You were here during the plague?"

"It's why I chose to be turned. I was… I was dying, I remember that. I was dying, and I didn't want to, and there happened to be a group of vampires traveling through. They only turned me because I was a magician, and they took me with them to Asheliet."

"Asheliet? A vampire clan is hiding out there?" Julian whistled quietly, looking a bit shocked. "I've never heard of that. How many are there? How has word not gotten out about them?"

"It's the way they feed," Verun murmured quietly. "They don't leave survivors like I do. It would let too much information get out about them."

"Oh." Julian swallowed nervously. "Well then. I suppose that would make sense… but uh, should we go up to bed? I know that you woke up not too long ago but-" he stuttered to a stop, face slowly turning more red until he quickly shook his head and half turned away. "Oh, it's- agh, never mind me. You can go, if you want, I don't want you to feel like you're trapped here, cause you're  _ not, _ but I think you know that already-"

Verun stepped forward and raised a hand, grabbing Julian's chin and guiding him to look at her. She stared into his eyes for several long moments, inspecting both of them thoroughly. Julian didn't make sense, he was standing in a room barely inches away from a predator that could kill him and drain him of blood with barely a thought, and yet he didn't want  _ her _ to feel _ trapped. _ He should be the one worrying about that, not the other way around. He didn't make sense at all.

"V-Verun?"

"I already agreed to stay the night. Just grab my clothes for me and lead the way."

Julian nodded quickly and gently stepped away, going to that odd hidden room and bundling up her clothes. Staring at them in his arms she realized how dirty they looked - she hadn't been able to wash up much since being chased out of Asheliet, not without access to water warm enough to not freeze her. She wondered how Julian could even stand her as she was, between everything. But he only hitched his untied trousers around his hips and offered her a hand, leading the way up the stairs and back into the room.

Verun sat down on the edge of the bed, nervous as she stared at him. He put her clothes in a hamper and shuffled some things around - he didn't look at her, not with his red eye. She still held his eye patch in one hand, gripped tightly as if he was going to try to take it from her.

"Julian." Her voice startled him out of whatever the hell he had found to distract himself, and he turned easily, still hiding his eye. "You need sleep."

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine, darling. I can keep going just fine until tomorrow if you needed, or tomorrow night really- I- I…" he blinked as Verun stood up and stalked towards him, his face slowly flushing even before she touched him. "I'm fine," he whispered once she we there, placing a hand against his stomach.

"Sleep. You always look better after you've rested."

"Have you… have you been watching?"

"You've been keeping tabs on my victims as well, Julian." She didn't need to be so defensive, but she felt his words like a threat, making her heart flutter nervously.

"But have… have you been following me?"

"What if I have?"

His arms came up around her and she nearly twisted out of his grip with a snarl, but he calmed her with a brush of a kiss on her cheek. "How long?"

She struggled with herself for a few moments. Julian didn't need to know, he didn't need to find out her weird infatuation with him, no matter how much he wanted to know. But at the same time she wanted to stay like this, she wanted to stay wrapped up in his arms and his scent, drowning in him.

"Almost since I got to the city."

"Oh… it's been months then. Damn." He held her a little tighter, a hand running through her hair and drawing tingling lines along her scalp. "Is that why the people you jumped always ended up being near where I was?"

She nodded silently, feeling embarrassed. He made it sound so normal.

"Well, it's better than nothing. But really, I think that I should teach you how to wrap up the bites you leave, just in case I'm not around, it's not healthy for them to be walking around with holes in their neck."

"They wouldn't trust me afterwards."

"If you patched them up after, I'm sure that word would spread that the vampire of Vesuvia isn't as horrible as people think."

"They'd run the moment I let them go. They'd think I poisoned them."

"Verun, you usually leave them so woozy they can't walk very well, let alone run. Everyone I've met that's been your juice box has recovered just fine, but immediately after it's a bit hard to articulate much. You'll be fine to patch them up. And if you send them on to me, I'll make sure to fix anything that you might've messed up so that they don't think you've poisoned them."

Verun stared at him, absolutely dumbfounded. He was  _ insane, _ he was talking about this as if it was just another day in his life, like she wasn't a _ monster _ that would drain people of their _ blood. _ He was so casual about it all, infuriatingly so.

"Julian, do you hear yourself?" Her voice was quiet, more hurt than she wanted it to be. "I'm nothing but a creature, bound to the need for blood, no one will trust me! I don't deserve it, I've- I've done so much, I-I'm a monster, Julian-!"

"Shhh." Julian released her only to take her face in both of his hands, thumbs brushing over her cheeks. She felt like crying, tears burning into her eyes for the first time since she turned. She wanted to fall apart with him, seeing her torment echoed in his own eyes. "Shhh-hhh. Verun. You are not a monster, I promise. You are only a person, you are just like the rest of us. You're not like the vampires in Asheliet, you're not taking people's lives. You're just surviving, as well as you can."

Why was she so weak to him? Why did his words calm her so easily, with barely a whisper? She wanted to melt into him, let him convince her that everything was alright, she wanted to run far away and return to the living she had made for the last three years.

"Verun, I know what it's like to feel like a monster. But please, don't let that voice inside your head tell you such things. You're better than that, I can see it plain as the red of my eye in the mirror." And he kissed her, soft and gentle and quietly needy, trying to convince her of her own innocence. Verun felt herself break under his hands, a couple of tears slipping down her face.

He wiped them away with a brush of his fingers, drawing back and leading her to the bed. He sat down and drew her into his lap, holding her close with her face buried into his neck. She was stiff at first, hyper aware of where her lips were, where her fangs were, but after a few moments she relaxed. It had been so long since she had any sort of intimate contact, everything tonight had been so- so strange for her, like she had forgotten how to be close to anyone outside of feeding. She didn't even remember if she had ever been so close to anyone as her and Julian had just been, she couldn't really remember anyone being that intimate with her.

If he knew what it was like to feel like a monster - would he truly let himself be as close to her as he was at that moment? Or did he seek to fix his own shortcomings by comforting her about her own?

"Verun- Verun, do you feel alright? Can you lay down with me?"

She stared at him, the way he took her hand and kissed it, laid his lips upon the back, and her palm, up to her wrist with a whisper of devotion, of worship that made something sick twist in her chest. She wanted it, she despised it. She didn't deserve the softness of his movements, the gentle way he handled her. Not when she was a beast such as herself.

"Will you?"

She nodded once at his question, and slowly he wrapped his arms around her, tilting and shifting the two of them until she was laid down beside him, completely bare. Julian laid on top of the blanket with her, still in his trousers as he let his hands trace over the runed ribbons of her tattoos. She wished he would stop, she didn't want him worshipping the things that marked her as a monster. But the feeling of his hands on her felt good, calming beyond what she thought should be possible, so she just closed her eyes and turned her face into the pillow and let him.

"Goodnight, Verun. And, I apologize in advance if I wake you up with my nightmares, I don't mean to."

"You won't," she murmured. He would, almost undoubtedly, but if he did she would be there to put him back to sleep. Verun watched as his eyes closed, the man apparently exhausted, his breath settling until he slept. And then she closed her eyes as well and allowed herself to slip into a limbo between sleep and wakefulness until she too fell to her tiredness.

~~~

She woke early in the morning. Early enough that she barely had to squint to allow her eyes to adjust correctly. Dawn was just on the edge of the horizon, and beside her Julian seemed like he was on the edge of waking as well. He shifted on his side of the bed and hummed, his lips twitching like he was trying not to grimace. Verun watched for a few moments before brushing her fingertips against his back - staring at him as he proceeded to nearly launch himself upright, his eyes wild and terrified.

The scent of his fear rolled over her and Verun hummed quietly, scooting closer to him to wrap her arms around his waist and drag him back down into the bed. Julian went easy once she really put force into it, and he calmed once his head hit the pillow again.

"Sorry about that… did I wake you up?"

"No, you didn't. Woke up just a few minutes ago." Verun looked around. Honestly she was surprised herself that she had fallen asleep at all, after sleeping for the entire day yesterday. But now there was no way that she would be sleeping any more, so she had to resign herself to walking back through the city draped in the various cloths she had found to hide her eyes and throat, fighting a headache and being overwhelmed by the scents of so many people rushing by.

Julian sighed and brushed a hand across her stomach, fingertips dragging. "Will you be fine here today? The offer for the headache remedy is still up if you need."

"We'll see. The remedy could be nice. I need to get back home."

"Let me walk back with you. I don't want you walking around with such a bad headache if you have to get back."

"You don't need to worry so much, you know. I can make it back safely on my own."

Her voice was soft, but the look on his face was softer, and it felt like it was an argument they had gone through a thousand times, one they both knew the end result of. Because of course he would walk her home and fuss over her until she got up the will to send him away properly. They both knew he would insist until she let him.

"Verun…" he sidled closer and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Is this still alright? Me kissing you?"

She hummed and nodded slowly. Honestly she craved the attention, but still after everything she was scared of taking anything for herself. She just wanted to go back to her little place in the forest and hide in the deepest hole she could find, away from Julian and all of his advances.

But Julian kissed her again, soft and slow and with such a sense of heartache that it made her chest hurt. His lips were slightly chapped and bitten, but it felt right to have his lips on hers. She wanted him closer, drawing him nearer until the lines of their bodies met. There was a flutter of the heat from the night before, but it was barely an echo compared to the raging fire it had felt like. Now she smoothed a hand over his chest, leading up his neck for her thumb to swipe over the eyebrow of his plague-stained eye. Then she hooked her fingers around the back of his neck and pulled him closer, kisses turning insistent and hungry until Julian rolled over her to cover her body with his own.

But then he pulled away, slowly shuffling down to instead put his head on her chest, listening to her heart beat. She could feel every breath he took, the insistent and incredibly quick flutter of his heart against her ribs.

"Your heart goes so slowly… is that just a vampire thing?"

"I think so?..." Verun frowned a little. "I'm not sure. Never got close to any of the others for long enough to tell."

"Fascinating." He smiled at her as he tilted his head around awkwardly, apparently intent on keeping his ear pressed to her chest for as long as he could.

Verun sighed and stared at the ceiling. Julian's weight on her was rather pleasant, all things considered, and despite his appearance he didn't feel too bony. He was just warm and weighty, pressing out some of her anxiety like a hot iron on clothes cleared the wrinkles. For a moment she felt like she could stay here, just _ existing, _ just a person with a man laying on top of her, listening to her heartbeat. She brushed her hands through his hair and gave a quiet yawn, turning her head to look out the window at the coming dawn.

"Do you want to take a bath here, before we go? I can wash your clothes as well, they should dry fairly quickly with how warm it's been…"

She hummed at Julian's offer. "I do need to wash my clothes…"

He chuckled into her skin, leaving light kisses at the center of her chest. "Then it's decided. I'll get a bath running for us… I'll be careful to not make it too hot."

"Or cold," Verun added. "Just… warm will be fine."

Julian sat up and smiled at her, nodding as he got up and waltzed over to the door to the bathroom, disappearing through it just a few moments before she could hear pipes rattle to life as water flowed through them. Verun closed her eyes and listening, hearing Julian start to hum a song - it sounded like a sea shanty she knew, though she didn't know where she had learned it from. She knew the words were sad, but the notes were deep and filling, able to make her chest shake with it if she tried to hit the lowest notes.

Julian came back after a few minutes and offered his hands to her, hauling her up onto her feet and into his arms, depositing a light kiss on top of her head before leading her gently to the bath he had prepared. The tub itself was plenty big enough to submerge his entire lanky body, and Verun felt like she was looking at a small pool instead of a tub. Julian held her hand as she stepped in, insisting that he didn't want her to fall, but let her go as she sank into the water. It was actually perfect, just warm enough to feel warm to her but not scalding and risking her overheating. She let out a quiet sigh, appreciating the feeling of just being able to soak away the dirt and grime of however long it had been since last washing.

Julian watched her with a small smile, sitting on the floor just by the tub and leaning his head against the edge of it. "You want me to wash your hair? I've been told I give one hell of a scalp massage."

"If you want to," Verun sighed contentedly. She knew what his answer would be.

"But of course, milady," he drawled. He rose up onto his knees and leaned across the tub to grab a few corked bottles of scented oils and soaps. He offered them to her to smell, and she found a variety of scents that almost all sent her head reeling. They were all too strong for her, with how sensitive her sense of smell was now.

She shook her head and handed them back before spotting another bottle where he had grabbed the others. It looked like it was covered in dust with disuse, but she scooped it up anyway and cautiously popped the cork out of the neck of the bottle. The smell was much lighter than the others, almost… foresty. It was like getting the whiff of a field of wildflowers through the trees. Perfect, though she had no idea how someone could capture that exact moment on the wind in a soap.

Either way, Verun handed it to Julian, who paused and hummed, staring at the bottle. "You know, I don't think I ever remember using this. I don't even think it's mine." He shrugged and looked up at her with a soft smile. "But no one's ever come looking for it, so I must assume that they don't want it."

Verun cracked a slight smile before dipping down under the water to wet her hair, welcoming the touch of warmth submerging her. When she came back up she leaned against the back of the tub with her eyes closed, and then she felt Julian's long fingers sliding into her hair. Her breath hitched and she felt the way he almost paused before her shoulders relaxed and she nearly melted into his touch. He continued on then, working the soap she had chosen into a lather to wash her greasy hair. Honestly, she didn't know how Julian could stand being so near to her when she was so dirty. But now she shouldn't care too much when he was so willingly pampering her, soapy fingers oh so gently scratching at the hair behind her ears and at the base of her head. All the places that made her relax further until she felt like falling asleep.

But eventually his hands stopped, and all she could offer was a quiet whine of loss before he dipped his hands into the water to rinse them off. He chuckled and let his hands trail up her arms before pulling them away. "I know," he said quietly. "I'm mean to take away your head pets. But we gotta get the rest of you cleaned off."

Verun grumbled to herself but dipped her head back to wash the suds out of her hair, careful not to get them in her eyes. Then Julian handed her a sponge to scrub herself with, and in a few minutes she felt cleaner than she had in months. Julian returned to his place at the side of the tub and leaned his shoulder against it, looking down at his hands. His expression was almost melancholy, thoughtful and kind of sad.

Verun put both arms on the side of the tub, resting her head on them as she stared at Julian, once again taking in his features. He really was very attractive, and something about the bright red of his eye was intensely alluring to Verun - even when it was such a potent reminder of the plague and its hardships.

"What are you thinking about?" Verun murmured to him and Julian looked up, seeming almost guilty.

"Ah, it's… it's nothing, Verun. There's no need to worry."

"Tell me."

"Verun-"

"There's no reason not to. I won't judge. I have no room to."

Julian sighed. "I promise, it's just… it feels like I haven't had a proper relationship in years, and then all of a sudden a vampire shows up and waltzes into my home and suddenly I… I want to pamper her and keep her close and- and give you anything."

Verun stared at him as he flushed, her mind slowing to a crawl. He… wanted her? She knew that he was rather suddenly enjoying her company after the events of the night before, but that was vastly different than wanting her to stay, to stick around and start a relationship. That was something that she didn't think she could ever fulfill for him, she could never just have a normal life that he would undoubtedly want. He hadn't thought any of this through, clearly, this was all just the thoughts of an emotionally, affectionately starved man.

"I'm sorry, Julian," she whispered.

"I know."

"I wish I could."

"I know."

"You've been… you've been good to me. And I thank you for that. It's more than I should expect."

"I hope… I hope you don't think that I've only done that  _ because _ I like you, yknow. I do - but that's not why I did."

"Then why did you?"

Because he's a doctor. Because he cares about people. Because he doesn't want her to keep using other people as her food-

"Because you helped me sleep." He laughed nervously with a light blush, straightening up and running a hand through his hair. "I guess that- that sounds weird, I know, but really. I haven't been able to sleep well since the plague, and after you came and knocked me out with whatever magic you used… well, it's not often that I get a full night's sleep. Or anything close to. Though I have been sleeping better in the last month or so, so maybe-"

Verun found herself snorting quietly, covering her mouth in a half assed attempt to hide her reaction. But Julian caught her and blushed further.

"Sorry, I guess I just? It means a lot to me even if it's weird and it made me remember how nice a night of good sleep is and-"

"No no, it's not that, it's just-" She laughed quietly and set her forehead on the edge of the tub, hiding her face. Verun wasn't sure if she should tell him about the fact that there were actually a few other times she had visited him, but  _ god _ was it funny to her. After a moment she looked up again, setting her chin on the lip of the tub and smiling at him.

"T-then what is it?" He stuttered slightly, still blushing rather thoroughly.

"I…" she sighed and shook her head, starting to blush a little herself. "Well, I actually… came here a couple times before. And I panicked and made you forget those times, too."

"You were here? More than you have been?" He looked like he was caught between a tidal wave of emotions, joy and confusion and hurt warring on his face. "But… when? How long? Why?"

"I don't know why."

"When? How long has it been?"

"The first time was… a month ago, a month and a half? You disappeared and I just wanted to follow where you had gone so I followed your scent."

"My scent? You can… smell me? Not to sound weird, but…" Julian blinked and simply buried his face in his hands. "Oh god, this is all weird. And I forgot you? You made me forget?"

"Yeah, vampires can… our sense of smell is particularly sharp, but I can… smell you… really well…? Like in particular?" She blushed as he looked up at her in confusion.

"Me? Why me?"

"I don't know."

Julian took a deep breath. "Jeez, okay. First off, let's get you out of the tub and your clothes cleaned and we'll get… whatever this is figured out a bit more, alright? You can wear some of my clothes for now."

She nodded and smiled just a little. He unfolded himself and rose to his feet, ducking out of the room for just a moment to grab a towel. Verun stood up in the tub, dripping water as she stretched, shifting her feet to relieve pinching muscles-

And then she promptly slipped, limbs flailing as she let out a cry and tripped over the edge of the tub.

Julian appeared in the doorway, a hand bracing himself on the doorway to keep himself from tripping over her fallen form. Verun groaned and turned over a little, blushing up at him with a certain amount of embarrassment.

"Verun! Are you alright?" He swooped down to pick her up off the ground, getting her up onto her feet. "I tried to tell you that the tub was slippery, you should've waited for me to come back with your towel."

He fussed over her like an overprotective mother hen, and Verun did all she could do not pout like a scolded child. "I'm  _ fine, _ Julian. It wasn't that bad of a fall, I'm not even bruised."

"Not  _ yet, _ you aren't - bruises take a few minutes to form." His fingers slipped over slick skin and Verun huffed, grabbing his wrists if only to stop him from continuing to touch her. Not that she didn't want him to touch her - she kept his hands against her, near her waist until he stopped trying to fidget away.

"Julian, I'm fine. I promise. It takes more than a slip out of the tub to do damage to a vampire." She gave him the best reassuring smile she could, squeezing his wrists just a little.

He sighed and his hands tightened on her, pulling her closer until she was all pressed up to him, and he seemed determined to kiss her breathless. The water on her skin soaked into the thin pajama pants he had on, made her just cold enough to make him feel warm, and she craved. Her nails bit into his skin, and swiftly their kisses turned hungry and heated, both of them tripping and stumbling over each other until they found their way back to the bed, each determined to keep their lips connected.

Their long series of kisses only paused for a moment as Verun fell over him, Julian supporting her body through her soft fall and sealing their lips once more, almost desperate for her. A thrill ran through her, heavy and just as needy as he was as she pulled him closer. For just a second, she felt a tiny bit of a slip - it was gone the next moment, but like this she felt just a little more human than she had since she turned.

Needless to say, they didn't get around much. Not for quite a few hours, at least.

~~~

When they did move, the cause was Julian's stomach. It was approaching noon and he hadn't eaten, too caught up with Verun's body and her antics between rounds to bother pausing anything to get food. But eventually in the middle of one of their conversations his stomach growled rather insistently and they both paused… before laughing. Julian swept forward and pressed a tender kiss to her lips, cupping her face in both hands and then moved back, slipping off the bed.

"I'll be back in just a few minutes, Verun. Do you want anything? I'm not sure if vampires eat actual food but…"

"Honestly if you have any bread, that'd be great. I haven't had bread in ages." Verun smiled at him and he grinned widely before pulling on some pants and slipping downstairs. She was feeling light, pleasantly heavy but incandescently happy for the first time in so long. Somewhere in the last round of sex, she had quietly decided that maybe… even if it wasn't official, she could try something with Julian. He was just too tempting, and they fit together too fucking  _ perfectly _ to deny herself the pleasure of his company.

Her train of thought was broken by the sound of a knock on the door, and Julian giving a quiet yelp. Instantly she sat up and froze, ready to leap to her feet.

The inside of the house was silent for a few more moments before whoever it was knocked again, and a voice called through the door.

"Julian, I know you're here, slippery dog! I saw you through the window!"

She heard Julian give a quiet curse and the door opened with a pitifully quiet squeak of hinges.

"Hey, Tinya. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I haven't seen you all day. Wanted to make sure that you didn't come down with something, you're usually up and around town taking care of the town by now."

Julian chuckled nervously. "Ah, yeah, I guess I usually am…"

"So what's up with you? You're not one to stay in one place for so long unless it's the Raven and there's drinks being passed around." Footsteps came into the door, and she could hear Julian's anxious shuffling from upstairs.

Verun thought quickly, listening to the conversation as she got up and partially got dressed while simultaneously working her magic. A spell that she knew on the tip of her tongue, words mixed with intent and anxiety fueling her motivation. Memories of a girl in the mirror, meek and shy, no more capable of killing than a kitten.

"I uh… look, Tinya, right now isn't the best time, really-"

"Oh, come on Julian. Come out, have some fun. Barth and I are gonna check out the new ship that's in harbor, we were waiting on you."

Verun then stepped down the stairs, forcing a yawn out of herself as she held a blanket around her shoulders. "Juuules, what's taking so long?" She stopped for just long enough for the person standing beside Julian with a hand around his wrist could see her mostly-bare body, her tattoos and her eyes covered with a glamour spell. And then she blushed, pulling the blanket tighter around her to cover up. "Oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't know anybody was here."

The person standing there was… attractive, to be sure. Sleek blue-black hair, sharp blue eyes, dark skin. They looked over at Verun and raised an eyebrow, before glancing up at Julian as he blushed furiously.

"Ohhh, so that's why. You could've just said something, Julian." They smirked at him and Julian let out a small squeak in place of agreement.

"Sorry, what's your name?" Verun stepped down the stairs the rest of the way, her steps slow and timid as she came to stand beside and slightly behind Julian. "I guess I should meet your friends, huh Jules?"

He nodded jerkily and startled slightly as she wrapped her arms around him and tucked herself close to his side. But after a moment he relaxed a little and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her a bit closer. "Tinya, this is Verun… Verun, my drinking friend, Tinya."

She smiled at them and watched as their eyes crinkled as they smiled in amusement. "Ah, good to meet you Verun. I didn't know that Julian had a girlfriend… unless this a recent thing?"

"Ah, yeah it… it's recent. Very." Julian coughed and squeezed Verun a little. "But we're figuring stuff out right now, just t-took a small break? To get food?"

Tinya laughed, throwing their head back with a cackle. "Oh, Julian, I didn't think you had it in you to catch a girl like her. Such a cute little thing, you are."

Verun pouted at them, eyeing their height. A few inches shorter than Julian, a few inches taller than herself. Hardly grounds to call her short, they were just abnormally tall. She was about to open her mouth to answer them when Tinya waved a hand with a cocky grin and waltzed towards the door.

"Ah, but its no matter. I'll come back later, Ilya, we can go out for a few drinks. Maybe with your new mistress? I'll save you a seat, don't be late."

"I'll… we'll see, Tinya." Julian nodded slowly and together they watched his friend slip out the door with a wink.

The door closed and Verun leaned on him with a sigh, warily glaring at the windows. "I dunno if I like them."

"Tinya… well, they're an odd one at times. Don't worry though, they're a genuinely good friend."

Verun nodded before Julian turned in her arms and tilted her face up to his, inspecting her eyes. "Magic? I didn't know you could do this with it."

She nodded and closed her eyes. "Yeah, it's handy in a pinch when I can't cover my face."

Julian kissed her softly. "Is that what you looked like, before…?"

"Yeah," she whispered. Honey-amber eyes and mostly smooth, warm colored skin. She'd always tanned easy. "It's tiring to keep it up though."

"Have you ever thought of trying makeup?" Julian ran a hand over the tattoos on her throat, the glamour shimmering against his touch. "Then you'd just have to worry about covering your eyes. I know a friend of mine sells makeup that stays on pretty damn well, he's known for it."

"I've thought of it, never have had the money or patience to try it."

"Maybe we can go out and try that tomorrow?" Julian smiled and took her hands in his. "If it will help you get around the city easier so you don't have to worry so much, I'd… I'd really like to help."

"Because I helped you sleep, or cause you like me?" Verun gave him a wry smirk and he laughed.

"How about a little bit of both?" He kissed her hands and her wrists, letting the blanket fall to the floor around her feet. "I want you to not feel so much like a monster, Verun. You haven't been anything but sweet to me, in… a few different ways."

She hesitated, staring at him for several moments as he stared back, hopeful and so, so unbearably caring. "I don't know if you can do that, Julian. I don't know if anyone can." His face fell slightly, though he tried so desperately not to let it show - Verun had to hurry on before she broke the poor man's heart. "But- but… I'll go with you, to look at the makeup, if you think it'll help."

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "That's all I can ask, my dear. Just a chance."

~~~

They spent the rest of the day hanging out in Julian's bedroom, passing the time talking. Their passion had passed and was replaced with a quiet exhaustion that had them in a space of not-quite-napping with quiet words mumbled against each other's lips.

And an itch underneath her skin started.

First when the quiet stretched longer as Julian's eyes roamed over the sheets they had nestled themselves into, and smiled wide enough to show his teeth as he was reminded of fantastic stories from his travels.

Again when he stretched, his arms high over his head as he yawned and blinked at the window, his eye patch replaced. When he mentioned his surprise at being tired when it was barely dipping past evening.

There was a tightness in her chest that tugged her away, even while a knot tightened around her heart, unwilling to let go.

"Let me help you sleep," she murmured.

"Will you leave me?"

"I'll be back tomorrow."

"Will you?" He was looking for a promise in her eyes. She couldn't fulfill, could keep it - she was a monster, she wasn't worthy, she wasn't able to say yes-

"You said we were going to go get makeup, right?"

She couldn't answer his underlying question, and she saw the shadow in his eyes.

"Alright."

She pressed her lips to his forehead, brushing aside auburn waves that were turning to curls with dried sweat. And then her fingertips pressed where she had kissed, and she watched as his eye slid closed. Such pretty grey eyes, hidden beneath the purpled grey of exhaustion. Maybe they would look better once he got some sleep. Would he wake up from his nightmares? Would he suffer without her there?

Verun sighed and shook her head. She had to let him get on with life, she couldn't be doing this so often. Getting stuck with one such as Julian, no matter how charming, would only end up in trouble.

So she donned her clothes and slipped out into the night, back to her home in the forest.

~~~

She was back in the morning as she said she would be, only to find Julian at his kitchen table, barely asleep with his head resting in the cradle of his arms.

The trip to get makeup to conceal her tattoos was successful, and Julian was so generous as to buy her a few bottles of the formula for her to store.

And Verun left him with a kiss at his door, after Julian brought her inside to help her apply the makeup properly. She would have stayed longer, or that’s what she told him, but she really needed to feed tonight and she didn’t want to risk him getting caught by her. So he tucked a few rolls of bandages into her bag along with a tiny jar of some ointment, and told her to make sure that she patched up her next victim.

~~~

So she did. She didn’t drink as much this time, she didn’t need to, but it was enough that she had to hold down the man she had caught. His eyes were wide and scared as he struggled to move, but he was weak and Verun pressed a knee to his chest to pin him to the ground.

“Please, just stay still, it will only take a minute for me to patch you up…” her voice was no more than a murmur, trying to calm the man.

It didn’t do much, but once she got off of him and stepped away with her head down, he didn’t tear the bandage off. Instead he stared at her for a moment, like he was trying to stare past the layers of fabric hiding her face.

Then Verun growled at him, and he shuddered and stumbled away, down the alley.

Hopefully being patched up by a vampire would make things a little easier when it came to the fear around her.

~~~

It took her a few days but a little while after that she found herself wandering through the city, testing out the cover the makeup gave her. It seemed to work just fine, people barely glanced at her at all as they passed back and forth on the streets.

She found her way into the poorer areas of the city where she usually did her hunting, eyes searching unconsciously through the crowd. Even though she would never admit it she was looking for him, making sure that he wasn’t anywhere near her-

“Oh, so I guess your disguise is working?” Julian’s voice piped up a mere inch from her ear, making her jump.

She whirled around, stopping in the flow of traffic and making a few people bump into her with annoyed grumbles. “Julian! What are you doing here?”

“What am  _ I _ doing here? That’s what I should be asking you, darling.” He grinned widely at her and pulled her along by the hand, heading for the nearest alleyway that would get them away from the main crowd. “I am glad to know that you’re getting out more, though. You have eaten by this time, right?”

A perfectly normal conversation, or so it would seem to most people if they were listening. “Yeah, I ate on time thankfully. But I’ll have to eat again soon enough.”

“That’s fine. You been taking care of your people?” They reached the edge of the main thoroughfare and Julian pulled her against him, leaning down so that his face was inches from hers. It smelled like he had been drinking, at least a little bit.

“You saw my handiwork the other night, Julian,” she murmured, tilting her head up to his. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t eager for his company again. “I hope it was good enough…”

“It was plenty good enough, my dear.” He kissed her lightly, sighing like he had been craving her - like he had been starving for her. “I do hope your visits to the city will be more often than this, I’m afraid I miss you exponentially more with every hour you’re gone.”

A quiet laugh bubbled up her throat and she found herself giggling against his lips. “Or maybe you’ll just have to come and disappear into the forest to see me every once in a while, Julian.”

“If you’d be so kind as to show me the way to your home, then I absolutely will.” He spun the two of them around, and Verun found herself trapped between him and the wall as he kissed her until both of them were breathless and letting out small moans between the two of them. Time seemed to slip away, the noise of the crowd just outside the alleyway turning into an idle din that both of them nearly forgot about.

Verun’s arms were crawling up his sides under his untucked shirt, Julian’s hand hooked behind her neck, when a half-familiar voice called his name. They startled apart, both of them looking towards the entrance of the alleyway with wide eyes and barely parted lips, swollen with the attention of so many kisses.

Tinya stood there with a smirk, hand on their hip. “Ah, the lovebirds have found each other again. Sorry for interrupting, Ilya, but me and Gen were waiting for you.”

“Ah, yeah, shit-” Julian drew away and started hastily tucking his billowing white shirt back into the top of his pants. “Sorry Tinya, just give us a few minutes. I’ll be right there.”

“Mhmmm~” They snickered quietly as Julian blushed, and then spun on their heel and walked back out of the alleyway, gathering a blue-haired individual waiting for them at the edge of the crowd.

Julian finished righting himself and he took a deep breath, his gaze turning to Verun. His eye traced the shape of her lips, her nose, inspecting the honey-amber color of her eyes. “Sorry, Verun, for- that. I wasn’t entirely expecting to see you in the city again so soon, I suppose.” Or at all, his tone said.

“Yeah, I dunno. It’s weird, I just… keep finding my way back to around this area.” Verun fidgeted a little, looking away from Julian as her ears started to go red. Was she seriously trying to flirt with him? Really? What was she doing?

He laughed quietly and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “If you’ll be around tonight, I’ll… I’ll try to make sure to get home. You can spend the night, if you want?”

“Maybe,” Verun murmured with a small smile. With an invitation like that, she knew she would be there whether it was a good idea or not. “Maybe I’ll take you to my home tonight.”

“Either way, I’m sure it will be a wondrous night with you, darling.” He took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it, like a proper gentleman. “But for now I must go, I have a couple of house calls the Doctor Devorak must take care of. I’ll be looking forward to more time spent with such a wonderful companion like yourself.”


	2. Ruination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things usually get worse before they get better. Or, they get better, and then worse, and then even worse before getting better. We'll see about that though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I didn't really mean for this to get this long... or this angsty. Ye be warned here, my fellows. Dark thoughts be here. We've also got some soft sex scenes though so like, don't worry. Verun is going to get better with her thoughts, I promise.

****

So it became a thing between them. Verun would show up somewhere around the second or third day after feeding and they would stay in bed until they themselves and the sheets were all a mess, often covered in a few different bodily fluids, satisfied with the ache in their bodies. She would bite and scratch and claw at Julian's skin until he bled and screamed out his ecstasy, going pliant under the force of her hands until they bathed together and soaked in the afterglow. It was the best stress relief she could ask for, though she didn't pretend to think it wasn't growing into more than that. It had been more than that from the start, as much as she resisted it.

A vampire, a monster from nightmares, falling in love with a man who refused to fear her. He would wrap himself around her and press kisses to her hair, her cheeks, her forehead and shoulders and anywhere else he could reach. He was so sweet with her, she didn't know what to do with herself.

So she'd kiss all the places she had marked during their rougher nights, murmur her thanks into his skin until he pulled her up into kisses that made her melt. It was all she could do to repay all the kindness and caring he had given her already, and continued to give.

It was nice. It was wonderful even, the way she didn't have to fear about giving him physical affection. Julian had seemed to accept that their relationship was never going to be normal, though Verun did her best to make sure he knew that… she cared for him, as much as she could without maybe calling it what it might be, without falling in too deep-

And finally she was able to explain, one night when Julian finally let his questions slip and Verun was still floating in the afterglow.

"So… where  _ do _ the marks come from? The tattoos, I mean."

She let her eyes slide open lazily, looking down at his fingers as they traced the runed ribbons curling around her breasts and down along her belly, twisting around to her back.

"When you agree to the terms of complete bloodlust… after your body has been completely drained, as much as it possibly can be, your eyes turn red when you come back. The beginning signs of a vampire. It takes a little to regain your strength, but once you hit a point you… the bloodlust hits. And it creates a sort of artificial strength, until you've fed. The tattoos are magical, appearing the moment human blood is consumed."

_ A testament to sin, _ her mind supplied helpfully. She had always hated those tattoos.

But Julian only hummed and kissed her shoulder where the dark red-black color was. "Do you know what the runes mean?"

"I haven't been able to figure them out, no. As far as I've seen, they're different for every vampire, to the point where I think even the runes are from different languages, or… however runes work." Verun sighed and rolled over to press against him completely, from shoulder to ankle.

She should tell him.

He was silent now, idly running his hands up and down her back, and he looked so beautiful with his kiss-swollen lips and his red eye and his thoughtful expression.

He deserved to know.

"Julian," she whispered quietly, just into the space between their lips.

"Yes?" His voice also dropped into a whisper, leaning forward until their lips brushed.

Her heart leapt into her throat and she was so desperate, so unprepared. Would he continue to care for her like he had been? Would he still welcome her into his home, his bed, his arms? She didn't… she didn't want to be left behind, abandoned. But she was still a danger to Julian, this whole city if she was being honest. She couldn't blame him if he pushed her away.

"Julian, I…" still she hesitated, nervous. "I-I think…"

"I love you," he blurted quite suddenly. And then his eyes went wide and a blush quickly rose on his cheeks as he stuttered and tried to backtrack. But Verun wasn't listening because he looked  _ beautiful _ like this with his ivory skin and his eyes and his lips-

Her lips crashed into his before she really had time to think. She needed to taste the words on his tongue, needed to be assured that they were real, that he wasn't lying. Because he loved one of the most dangerous things in the world and she _ craved _ it, she craved his love and his affection and everything else that he could give her. She was so selfish, the way she pulled him closer, fingers scrabbling at his skin so desperately, needing him. So selfish when she knew the consequences of loving him, the consequences of him being so close.

But he pushed back just as hard as she pulled until Verun was on her back with Julian over her and he  _ loved _ her. It wasn't a lie, she hoped, she  _ prayed _ to whatever gods might be out there that he wasn't so cruel, or so misguided. And she accepted his tongue as it pressed into her mouth like he was praying the same thing, hoping that she would accept his love like she so desperately wanted.

Eventually they parted, for just long enough that Verun could gasp his name in a formless plea,  _ wanting _ so badly. She wasn't sure what she wanted or what she needed but she knew that it was all tied up with Julian.

He drew back and paused, tips of their noses brushing as they stared at each other. "Verun…" he murmured brokenly. "Verun,  _ Verun-" _

"Yes, yes, yes," she chanted, leaning into his hand as he cupped her face so tenderly, and she felt his hard arousal press against her thigh. He was just as desperate as her, pleading to have her body in a different way, to be so close with the air stolen away from their lungs by their cries of exaltation to be in love.

But he didn’t speak in so many words, just a pant of her name before she pulled him closer and he pressed into her. She wasn’t so used to being below him, but the way pleasure exploded between her legs made her breathing stall in her throat.

Then he started moving and together their voices crescendoed into a chorus of pleasure. And maybe Verun in all her babbling and her cries asked for more because oh so carefully Julian maneuvered one of her legs onto his shoulder and  _ oh _ that feeling was going to ruin her. She felt his hands on hers, fingers intertwining and pressing into the sheets but he wasn’t pinning her down, he was  _ holding _ her and it was so intimate and knowing and familiar, she felt like she was about to combust beneath his body. It felt like she was going to melt into a puddle of sensation and pleasure and affection, seep into the sheets like the sweat on her skin so she could cradle Julian  _ every _ night.

And like this she could see the way he pumped in and out of her, her back curved up to meet him with her leg thrown over his shoulder and every time he buried himself into her it was  _ delicious _ heat, so much feeling that it was on the edge of pain. It had heat sliding down her back as he leaned down to kiss her, and she pushed closer, bruising his lips and biting until the hint of metallic ooze was on her tongue and he  _ slammed _ into her with a deep rumble in his chest, a needy growl that was echoed by her own, wordless with their desperation to stay so close, lips sealed together.

But eventually they ran out of air like that, and the moment they parted, each other’s names were on their lips and Verun sobbed. She couldn’t take the tenderness, the gentle lips with the rough pounding her body was so gratefully taking, the promise of love dancing in his eyes that were blown so wide. So  _ fucking _ perfect, tears streamed from her eyes as her voice broke and words spilled out of her.

“Oh-oh- fuck,  _ please _ Julian-” She gasped, her thighs trying to clench together because it was overwhelming, how good she felt in the moment. His hands released her own and instead slid to her hip, her thigh, holding her in place as he took her body, racing them together towards their finish.

And then they were crashing over the edge, Julian nearly crumpling over her as his face twisted and went slack with pleasure, and Verun was fairly certain she did something rather similar. All she could feel was blood rushing through her veins, the rushed pounding of her heart, the pleasure ripping through her.

When they both started to come down, Julian carefully shifted her leg off his shoulder and laid on top of her, still buried in her. He settled with a grunt and a sigh, pressing kisses to her skin. Verun let him stay there for a few moments before raising a hand to turn his head towards her. She kissed him soundly, gently, until he hummed against her lips. Then she drew back just a hair, just enough to speak, still close enough to brush his lips with every syllable.

"Julian…" she took a breath, trying to convince herself otherwise, before continuing. "I love you…"

And maybe it was a bit stiff, and maybe Verun didn't really know what she was doing (or maybe she did and she didn't want to feel like she did) but Julian pressed his lips to hers so softly she nearly broke.

But she survived, and as they cleaned up she watched Julian move with a new appreciation. There was discussion to be had, and maybe Verun should tell him her secrets, but for now… maybe she could say that he was hers.

~~~

She didn't tell him. But things were good anyway, what they had. Julian loved her, and that's all she needed. They kept up their schedule for the most part, Verun showing up in the city the few days after feeding. She started keeping a bottle of her makeup at his home in case they wanted to go out into the streets in the morning.

Things were good.

Until they were ruined.

It had been a little longer than usual since Verun had last seen Julian, and she was ravenous for his touch. She wanted to taste him again, mark him once more for just a moment and see him squirm and break under her touch.

She was impatient, backing him against the wall in the kitchen, nipping at his skin as she taunted him with her teeth.

And then the door opened with a shout, and the two of them were sent careening apart as they both turned to face the intruder, Julian stumbling with a quiet moan.

“Julian! Are you-” It was Tinya, eyes wide and frankly terrified as they swept from Julian to Verun and her tattoos, her eyes. “Are you… what the  _ hell?!” _

“Tinya, wait!” Julian shook himself out of his stupor and reached for his friend. “I can explain, I swear, I just-”

“I thought the two of you were a thing!”

“We  _ are, _ what do you think… Tinya, please, just-”

In response, Tinya slapped Julian. Hard, across the cheek, leaving a bright red mark that faded quickly. “You  _ idiot! _ You think you’re in  _ love? _ She’s probably just charming you to get at your neck!”

Verun watched with wide eyes, the words stinging her like the lashings from a whip. Her hands crawled up to cover the tattoos around her throat, lips pursing slightly to hide the shape of her fangs as much as she could.

And Julian was silent, for just a beat too long.

“Tinya, please. She’s not going to hurt me.” Julian leaned back, looking as serious as Verun had seen so far. “I’ve been helping her, she doesn’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Oh, bullshit. Monsters like her don’t care about anyone, you know that, Julian.”

And finally, she disappeared. Magic coursed through her veins, rendering her invisible to the other two. Tinya sucked in a breath, eyes going wide once again as they tried to find Verun, and Julian turned and looked so crushingly sad it hurt Verun to see.

“Verun, Verun wait-” Letting out a vicious curse, Julian grabbed his coat as Verun fled towards the still open door. “Just. Don’t tell anyone, not until we’ve had the time to seriously talk about this, okay Tinya?”

“Why?! Why should I wait for you to get torn apart by-”

Their voices faded as Verun ran. She didn’t even notice where her feet were taking her until she was well away from the house, streets crowded by the buildings on either side. Her heart pounded, nervousness and anxiety crushing her heart and fueling her invisibility.

_ Monsters like her don’t care about anyone, you know that, Julian. _

Her hands shook.

There was just so much pain charged behind those words. She didn’t want to be this monster, she’d rather be dead than have to feed off of the innocent. It’s why she prowled for bruisers, for people who hurt, put them out of commission for a while so they wouldn’t be able to do what they did for a while. But maybe… maybe that just wasn’t enough, maybe she didn’t deserve even a sinner’s blood, a murderer’s life. Even they were more valuable than her, a bloodthirsty monster that didn’t have the capability to care, no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise. She didn’t deserve the time that she stole with Julian, the love and the care he devoted to her, the simple caresses and the glances of adoration.

She didn’t  _ deserve _ anything. Nothing but chains and fire.

Her footsteps eventually led her up to one of the aqueducts. The water was still stained red with plague, and when she stopped at the edge of the drop, she could see pale forms slithering together just under the surface.

Vampire eels, just as disgusting and vile as herself. Fitting.

She sat down at the edge of the aqueduct walls, staring down at the seven-ish foot drop. What would it be like to drop into that water? Would it burn? Her eyes began to sting with tears and her invisibility finally dropped as she sobbed and curled in on herself.

She sobbed and cried, fingers curling into her clothing, the things that Julian spent money on for her. Her chest ached so fiercely with feeling that she could hardly breathe, little wails escaping her lips even as she fought to contain them. She didn’t need anyone to be bothered by her noises.

“Verun!”

She heard his voice call to her and her breathing stalled in her throat completely until he was crouched down behind her, dragging back from the edge and sitting with her in his lap, rocking her back and forth.

“Breathe, darling, please. In, and out. Cmon.”

She finally did take a breath, a gasp of air before she was nearly hyperventilating with quick breaths that she just couldn’t control. But Julian held her close, rocking them back and forth with lips pressed to her hair and her forehead and her cheeks, anywhere he could reach, still continuing his instructions to _just_ _breathe, it’s okay, just in and out._

Eventually she was able to press her head into his shoulder and shudder out a sigh. “I-I’m so sor-ry-”

“Shhh, it’s okay. You have nothing to be sorry about, Verun. Tinya just doesn’t understand yet. They’ll come around, I promise.” Julian kissed her head again and held her, a little tighter now that she was breathing more properly.

“I-I’m-m… I’m not- I’m not charming you, you know that right?” Her hands clenched into his jacket and she felt him nod with his head on top of hers. “I-I swear, I’m not, I’m  _ not.” _

A silent plea underneath that, as Julian cleared his throat and ran his hands up and down her back. “I know, Verun. I know, I love you.”

Her voice was a quiet wail when she was able to force it out of her throat again. His words hurt as much as they healed the tiny fracturing wounds in her mind. He loved her, thought her worthy of his efforts, cared for her beyond almost any other. But he loved  _ her, _ a monster, a beast…

“I love you, Verun, I love you, it’s okay.” He rocked her a little more, tears in his voice now as well. “I promise, everything will be fine. I’ll talk to Tinya about everything. We’ll get it figured out, and things will go back to normal.”

She tried to believe him, she really did, but she was so tired of telling herself that everything was going to be okay. Nothing was okay for her, really. Everything was shit, everything was terrifying and hurtful and she just wanted to  _ rest _ for a while without having to worry.

But eventually he got the two of them up on their feet, and Julian held her hand tightly as they walked back through the streets of the city to get back to his place. But he paused outside the door, lips pursed as he looked at her.

“Do you feel okay here?” He asked, his voice heavy but concerned. Honest. She could be honest with him in return.

So slowly, she shook her head. This place wasn’t safe now, not for her. Julian would be best staying away from here as well, if only for a little bit.

“Do you want to go home?”

Again, she shook her head.

He sighed, and she was about to step away and go home anyway, before he planted a kiss on her forehead. “Then I have a place that we can stay, for tonight. It’s been a while since I’ve visited, anyway. Let’s go.”

Verun let him pull her gently along, walking through the city until they came across a hut, firelight still glowing through the window. Julian knocked on the door, and a few moments and muffled curses later it was hauled open by a stout woman that stared up at Julian before switching her gaze to Verun.

Her eyes automatically landed on her tattoos, and Verun felt a screaming sob build up in her throat - before the woman sighed and stepped back, waving them into the house.

“You better explain yourself, Ilya.”

Julian tugged her in behind him, having to bend over a little to actually fit through the door properly. Verun had no such problems, looking around as she was led in.

“Hello, Mazelinka.” He let go of Verun’s hand to hug the woman warmly, damn near engulfing her with his cloak and long limbs. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“Too long, evidently.” Mazelinka eyed Verun for a moment. “Why am I not surprised that you’ve gotten involved with the vampire of Vesuvia?”

“Ah hah…” Julian laughed nervously, glancing back at Verun as well, reassuring. “Well, that’s a story that I’ll definitely have to catch you up on, but… we were wondering if we could stay here for the night.”

“As long as you don’t have the guards crashing in on my home, you’re welcome, Ilya, you know that.” Mazelinka sighed and shuffled around the room. “How long has it been since you’ve slept?”

Julian chuckled and leaned against the counter, legs half splayed out as he stood there. “Last night, actually. Got a good oh, five hours of sleep.”

The woman eyed him critically for several seconds. The bags under his eyes weren’t as vicious as they once were, though his eyelids were seemingly eternally bruised with color and lined with red.

“And is that because of her?” She picked up a wooden spoon and gestured at Verun with it, not rudely but maybe a bit warily.

“Yes, actually.” Julian seemed so much more at ease about telling this woman about Verun, though he did anxiously glance over at her, as if to ask her permission to tell even while her tattoos were out in plain sight. “Mazelinka, this is Verun. Verun, Mazelinka.”

“And can I rightly assume that you’re the reason Ilya hasn’t been coming by recently?” Mazelinka turned to Verun, eyes narrowed. “He’s always been slippery but up until the last month or two he hasn’t been getting in trouble so often like he used to. Unless he’s simply had someone else to get him out of it.”

Julian gave an offended squawk and waved his arms. “Hey! I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much!”

Mazelinka snorted without taking her eyes off of Verun. “Uh huh. Even Pasha says otherwise, Ilya.”

And despite all the banter, Verun found herself quietly shrinking under the weight of the woman’s stare. But then Mazelinka stepped closer, reaching a hand up to pat her cheek a couple times, and she was startled out of her thoughts. She didn’t expect anyone to be willing to touch her upon first meeting her.

“Chin up, you. What’s on your mind?”

Verun froze, as Julian coughed and tried to speak up on her behalf. “I- uhhhh, Mazelinka-”

“Hush, Ilya.” And her gaze softened, looking at Verun. 

“I… I…” Verun looked away, not able to meet the woman’s gaze. “We were… walked in on, I guess. Julian’s friend, Tinya, they…” Her face must have twisted in renewed pain, or something like that, because the woman in front of her seemed to understand well enough.

“Tinya is a fool,” Mazelinka snapped, though she didn’t sound angry at Verun. “Let me guess, they screamed and argued and ran around like a headless chicken, talking about things they don't understand.”

“I tried to talk them down, but they wouldn’t listen,” Julian said quietly, his voice grave. “And Verun ran, so I haven’t had the time to explain to them. Not blaming you, my dear, you shouldn’t have to stand and take such abuses.”

“Well, let’s set one thing straight, Verun. Tinya might as well represent all of this city’s common folk and their fear of vampires. But their fear, this city’s fear, is not universal.” Mazelinka put her hands on her hips, the wooden spoon sticking out of her fist. “I’ve seen places in my travel where vampires have made it work with living people, where they’ve been worshipped as gods. Not saying that you  _ should _ be worshipped, but it’s not the worst that people have done.”

“B-but I-”

“No buts. I don’t care how old and ancient you may or may not be, there’s no reason to continue believing that you are only a monster.”

Verun went silent, staring at Mazelinka with eyes the size of saucers.

“I’ve seen a lot of things on my life of travels around the world, Verun. A siren walking around as a mute to keep herself from accidentally charming people. A man imbued with the life of a fire spirit exiling himself to the highest crests of a mountain to freeze, because he was too scared to learn how to control the fire in him. Hell, I’ve heard of a werewolf that would leave his family every month to go to the most remote places he could find. Because he didn’t have anyone to tell him how to deal with the transformation.”

“And you want to know what the most destructive thing I’ve seen is?” Mazelinka leaned in closer. “A man who called himself a demon and killed as he pleased in the name of some unpronounceable demon lord’s name. Just a man with an unfortunate talent for magic and an unfortunate penchant for acting. So you don’t have to feel guilty for what you have become, Verun. You know how to be better.”

A sob built up in her chest, breaking through as Mazelinka patted her arm. And then once again the tears came, but this time as Julian came over to envelop her in a hug she simply nodded against his chest and clutched at his clothing. What a night this had been, harsh and comforting all at once. The way Mazelinka simply looked at her and took her as she seemed, as she wanted to be - something close to human, with all the thoughts and emotions that came with it.

“You two can take the bed, unless you want to sleep in the hole. Might make her more comfortable.”

Julian nodded quietly. “I think we’ll take the bed… thank you, Mazelinka.”

The woman grunted quietly and kicked back the thick rug that laid in the center of the room, pulling up a trap door. “Sleep, you two. You need it.”

And with that she disappeared down into the hole in the floor. Julian was silent for many minutes, holding onto Verun as she rode out her silent tears, stroking up and down her back.

Eventually, when her shoulders stopped shaking and her tears were exhausted once more, he nudged her face up with a hand and leaned down to kiss her. “Verun… you know that I love you, right?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “And I love you too.”

And it was honest, painfully so, the words still making her heart wrench with anguish and love in equal measures.

He kissed her again, long and soft and slow, his love bleeding from his mouth in the form of pressure and the shape of his tongue against hers. Like he was trying to chip away all the hurt she carried, clear the thoughts that told her that she couldn’t be loved.

And when he sighed against her mouth she broke again, just a little. Tears gathered in her eyes as she gazed up at him until all the saw was the blurry shape of him, his wild auburn waves and the eyepatch that hid his beautiful eye. She loved him so much, and she was so afraid. Afraid to be honest, afraid to break the gentle love she had stolen from him.

Afraid to tell him that she was hunted.

His thumbs wiped away her tears.

“Come on, let’s go to bed, love.”

And gentle hands led her to a curtained off area in the house, laid her down on the sheets, crawled under them beside her. She was so tired. Tired of crying, of being afraid, of being something that wasn’t herself.

Julian held her close and peppered kisses all over her face, a last goodnight before they both slept.

“Do you think Tinya will ever…”

“I don’t know. They can be stubborn, but… I have a friend we can go to, if Tinya starts anything.”

“Okay…”

“I love you.”

“... I love you too.”

~~~

The next morning found Verun with a blinding migraine.

She buried her face into the pillow, but the white of the cover was too bright, even through closed lids. Julian cleared his throat quietly, sitting up with a tired sigh, and it all sounded like it was directly in her ear, too much to handle.

So she curled up, pressing her hands over her ears, and as Julian looked over a hand pressed to her back.

“Are you alright?” His voice was thankfully at a whisper now that he caught wind of her pain.

She rolled her head from side to side, lacking the will to actually shake her head properly. The texture of the pillowcase was scratchy, almost too much for her to handle as her body simply became oversensitive to everything.

So Julian crept from the bed and in the next room she could hear the muffled sound of voices.

Her head pounded in time with her heart.

She laid there for an indeterminate amount of time before a weight settled back at the edge of the bed and Julian led her head up gently.

“Drink, love. It’ll make you feel better.”

She kept her eyes securely closed, but let him lead her lips to the edge of a cup, or maybe it was a bowl, and she drank the warm, slightly bitter brew contained within it. When Julian tilted her head back just a little she sighed through her nose and continued drinking until it was gone.

She licked her lips, clearing the flavor from her lips, and followed Julians hand as he lowered her back down to the sheets. Whatever he had given her was already working.

His hand brushed fingers back and forth across her belly, hands warm against her skin, just enough to be pleasant. “Do you want to lay down in the hidey hole?” She heard him ask, though her head still hurt enough that it was hard to answer.

“... dn’ wanna move.”

A tiny chuckle escaped him. “Alright. Do you want me to stay?”

“Yeah,” she whispered. The pounding in her head was starting to fade, bit by little bit.

“Okay.” And he shifted her, moving until her legs laid over his lap, and he massaged her hips and her thighs, all the way down to her calves. He worked out little knots and worked to relax her muscles before leading back up and sliding up under her shirt, his hands still warm.

Eventually when the pain started to subside enough, she squinted her eyes open to see Julian resting his head back against the wall, eye closed and looking almost relaxed enough to fall asleep again.

“... sleepy boy.”

His eye opened just a little bit to glance over at her with a smile. “You feeling better? That soup of Mazelinka’s does wonders, everything from sleepless nights to headaches.”

“Soup?” Verun sat up slowly, helped by a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think soup cures a migraine that quickly, Juli…” She was cut off by a yawn, pressing a hand to her forehead.

He shrugged with a slight blush. “Well, Mazelinka’s does. I dunno what she puts in it, but it’s always managed to get me to settle down.”

“Where is she now?”

Julian leaned over to bundle her into his arms. “She’s gone out for now. Probably shopping for some more ingredients.”

Verun nodded and pressed herself against him with a sigh. She was tired, and there was a dangerous knaw of hunger in her belly. When was she supposed to feed? Tonight? Tomorrow?

Julian smelled too good… dangerously so. There was a pulse gently thrumming underneath his skin, making her want to devour him. It was a sudden hunger as well, not quite the terrifying bloodlust she had gone through before, but unexpected.

She pressed her nose against his pulse, mouth partially hanging open as she breathed him in, wanting to taste.

“Julian…”

“Yes, my dear?”

She pressed against him more firmly. “... want you.”

His breath stuttered slightly. “Ah, but love, this is Mazelinka’s place, I don’t want to sully this place-” He went silent as her tongue laved across the skin of his throat, teeth grazing a bit too close for comfort.

“Or… or do you want a drink?”

“Mmmm…” Verun hummed her approval.

And so Julian leaned his head back with a shuddering sigh. “In that case… you know you only have to ask, Verun.”

“All my thanks,” she whispered, before her teeth gently dug into his neck. Not enough to hurt too much, just enough for her to be able to suck on the marks she left and taste the blood that came from them. Just enough to soften the edge of her hunger.

And when she drew back, there was a hardness pressing between her legs and a blush riding high on Julian’s cheeks, even as he tried to ignore it.

“Ah… hah. You done already, love?”

She nodded softly and kissed him. “I need you to help me get home… don’t need you to be feeling all woozy on me.”

He gave a shaky grin. “Oh, so I finally get to see the vampire’s lair, huh? I’m delighted.”

“Indeed.” She took his face in her hands and kissed him again, and again, before pulling away. “But I need something to cover my neck, the tattoos…”

“Don’t worry about it, I know Mazelinka has some spare scarves and such that you can borrow.” He pushed himself up, holding onto her and gently setting her on her feet. “You’ll be alright walking in the sun?”

“I’ll be able to make it home,” she murmured.

So he disappeared into the main room to find a scarf, and again she found herself wondering at his kindness, his sincerity. He seemed to have so much love to give. She wondered how he could chose to give it to her, someone who couldn’t risk seeing him most of the time. Just a few days out of the week is what he got, and yet he seemed so happy with her.

He came back with a light blue scarf, worn with age, and wrapped it around her neck with a smile. “Tada, you’re looking just fine. Just cover your eyes with a bit of glamour and you’ll be just fine.”

Verun smiled at him, and as he directed covered her eyes with her usual spell. And she took his arm as he offered, and led the way out of the house. Through the streets of Vesuvia, finding the routes that were usually the quietest through the city until they found their way to the edge of the forest. With a glance at him, she took a deep breath and plunged into the foliage, glancing behind them to make sure that no one saw them.

And she led him here too, a man unaccustomed to the forest and it’s erratic dips and turns and roots to trip on.

To a little cave, almost hidden in the side of a hill, leading upwards before dropping off into a wide, echoing cavern that dripped with the recent rainwater from the surface. It was intensely cool, and damp, but as Verun lit the fire she had left with a snap of her fingers she saw Julian’s eyes on her.

He didn’t seem to care that her bed was a pile of stolen blankets and furs, a shirt of his lost somewhere in there. He didn’t care about the cold, the dampness, the musty smell of the pitiless stone around them.

He advanced towards her, boots crunching on the gravel that covered the stone floor, and his lips met hers like he was the one starving for her.

Julian’s hands pulled her close, tight against his warm body, warm against the cold that surrounded them, his lips devouring and his tongue searingly, shockingly hot. He laid her down among the stolen things that she made her bed with and stripped her of the clothes he had bought her. His hands were gentle, but unweilding, a stark difference to most of their nights spent together where he writhed and begged and pleaded for her touch.

Her body arched into his touch, her eyes tracing the shape of his body as he pulled off his own clothes, kicking out of his tall boots and pants and his shirt until he could lay over her. Warmth like his shouldn’t have existed in this cave, this underground world. Scalding, blissful, so very alive with the love dancing in the features of his face.

Her hand reached up and pulled the eyepatch from his face, to see the firelight flickering in both of his beautiful grey eyes.

Wet kisses were pressed to her skin as he worked his way down her body, from her neck to her shoulder, to her waist and her hip, all the way down to her knee and back up the other side, leaving her needy and breathless.

_ I love you, _ he whispered into her skin without a sound, only with touches of his lips and his fingers, quietly worshiping the tattoos that curled around her body. His fingers traced over the buds of her nipples, making all the hair on her body stand on end as he pressed his face into her belly, inhaling deeply as if he was trying to keep the smell of her, the feel of her, ingrained into his memory. As if he was preparing.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, with words this time. “So perfect, Verun.”

And she wanted to deny it. She was still only a monster, no matter how much he loved her. She would never be anything but. And yet despite that, she had color rise to her cheeks, just the little bit that her body could provide, and kept her mouth shut. He mouthed at her hips, teeth grazing her skin only barely, hands so soft with her she thought she was going to break under them.

And then his mouth found her clit, and a whisper of a moan left her mouth as her hand slid into his hair. His mouth worked as his thumbs rubbed circles into her skin, wherever he could reach.

Until eventually fingers found their way into her, and she squeezed her eyes shut, tight as her chest shuddered through a sob and she broke, she  _ broke _ under his tender administrations, a line of prayer on her lips, thanking whatever gods were listening for this man, this beautiful,  _ amazing _ man. And he pressed praises to her skin, into her body where they sank into her being and she loved him, she loved Julian so much.

She came undone with a ragged cry, echoing in the chamber of the cavern for longer than it should have before Julian was moving upwards, fire contained just beneath his skin, looking her to ruin her. The flickering light of the fire cast shadows over his body, accentuating the rolling muscles of his shoulders, his back.

He kissed her mouth, the number of their kisses no uncountable. Impossible to know. She could taste herself on his tongue, evidence of her want and his aim to pleasure.

And then he pressed against her, grinding against the slick heat between her legs, and she whimpered a plea against his lips. It was all he needed, as he took her hands and held them down on either side of her, intertwining their fingers as he pressed down against her.

Beautiful, beautiful.

Her voice was a sob as he pressed into her properly. His lips pressed to her throat, tender butterfly kisses that left her shaking before he kissed away the tears that fell from her eyes. And his pace was punishing, once he was fully seated inside of her. It was heat, heat,  _ heat _ all the way up her spine as she sighed and cursed and loved.

Julian guided her legs around his waist, one arm wrapped around her thigh to keep her close as his breathing turned ragged, and all his words were  _ I love you, I love you, I love you, _ in little broken sentences.

When they crashed, together, it was with tears streaking down their faces. They didn’t have to ask, simply knowing the reason for the tears. It was only love.

And Verun pulled him close, using the unexpected strength her body shouldn’t have, holding him there so that their skin stuck together with the dampness of sweat, taking comfort in the warmth held between their bodies.

He pressed kisses under her eyes, and Verun sank into the comfort.

~~~

Tinya disappeared.

It shook Julian, Verun could tell.

According to him, his other friends, Tinya just… was never around when Julian was. They were avoiding him.

A couple of weeks passed, and Verun was starting to feel jittery. Julian started to come into her place in the forest more often than not, only meeting her in the city on the nights she had to feed and when he had doctor visits to attend to.

She felt a storm beginning to brew. There was an odd quietness to the city lately.

Victims were harder to find, the only ones out being the ones that had no place to go once the sun set, the ones that she was reluctant to hurt.

And eventually her hand was forced. She missed her usual feeding time, went almost a week without a touch of blood, too scared to go to Julian and accidentally snap.

An innocent man.

It was hard to stop herself before she got too far - after so long she felt as if she was starved, reliving her birthing bloodlust - but she managed. And Verun bandaged his neck, tucking a few silver pieces into one of his pockets, hoping it would be enough.

And then she found Julian.

He was tucked into his bed, though the moment she crawled in next to him he mumbled a greeting and turned around to pull her closer.

She shuddered in his grasp, feeling… vile. Unworthy.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered into his hair.

“For what?” His eyes were barely open, though he did try to keep his gaze on her as much as he could.

“... I think I went too far, tonight.” She tucked her face against his hair, the wild waves, and tried to keep tears from falling. “I gave the man a few coins, I’m just hoping… I didn’t take too much.”

For a few wordless moments Julian’s arms tightened around her. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, my love. You’ve always been careful.”

“I hope.”

~~~

The man made it well enough. She watched for him the next night. He was still a bit unsteady on his feet, but it looked like he was happy enough with the food he had been able to purchase with the coin she gave.

A wave of relief washed through her as she turned away.

~~~

And then, once more, it became worse.

Nervously she had come back to the city to check on her victim again, too paranoid and worried to think about the dangers for herself.

Not until she saw a familiar boot, sticking out of an alleyway like he was on the ground already.

Her throat suddenly constricted, and she was running before she knew it, praying-

A man was standing over Julian.

Dark, stormy purple eyes were the first thing she registered. And then the grip of something magical around her wrist, dragging her closer until a sword’s point rested at her throat. Her chest heaved, constricting. She knew this face, a face from her childhood.

“Riley-?”

“Don’t.” His voice was deep and rough, unrelenting.  _ “Don’t.” _

Julian writhed weakly, his hands bound behind his back, his eyes wide and wet. His eyepatch had been taken. He looked so pained, apologetic,  _ terrified, _ but not for himself.

“You’re… a vampire hunter, aren’t you?”

Riley nodded. He’d kept his dark hair short, a familiar cut. “And you’re a vampire, Verun.” He said it with such a lack of emotion.

“Riley, please-” The sword cut her off, pressing to her skin harder until it broke skin.

“Don’t call me that,” he snarled suddenly. “You’re a  _ monster, _ you don’t deserve-”

“I don’t deserve anything, I know.” Her voice was quiet now. “But let him go, please.” She nodded to Julian, his legs splayed out below hers. “Just don’t hurt him. He’s done nothing wrong.”

“He’s been harboring a vampire in his home for who knows how long now. I think that’s enough to send him to Asheliet. I’m sure the others there would like to send him off.” His words were cruel, but his eyes spoke of remorse, a self hatred that she knew all too well.

“You’re working for them,” she breathed. And then anger bubbled up inside of her, and she snarled at him, vicious. “You will  _ not. _ I’ll rip your throat you before you touch him, Riley-”

“A monster yet.”

“Only when you  _ make me!” _ Her eyes were blazing, her magic pushing against the restraints he had wrapped around her wrists. “I’ve done everything in my power to make sure I don’t hurt anyone more than necessary! I have only taken  _ one, single innocent soul, _ and yet you work for them! Those bastards in Asheliet have murdered hundreds throughout the years and you side with  _ them! _ Calling  _ me _ a monster!?” She strained harder to escape her bonds, and she was almost, almost-

And then reflective eyes caught hers, farther down the alleyway, and power coursed through her. The restraints broke, and her hand flew up to grab the blade that he held. She ignored it as it sliced into her hand, inhuman strength pulling the sword out of his grip. And she flung it away, into the main street behind her, the metal sparking and clattering across the cobbled street.

Riley stood his ground as she advanced, Julian scrunching down out of her way as she grabbed the hunter’s shirt with a bloody hand. “You. You are the monster here, Riley. Selling out to monsters worse than yourself, you just-”

She heard Julian gasp her name, a warning, almost too late-

A wooden stake, aimed for her heart. She managed to flinch away just enough that it didn’t do any true damage, though it dug deep, pain exploding in her chest.

With a gasp she stumbled, before her arm came up and a fist slammed into the hunter’s head. For a moment she wished it would kill him, release the monster from his self-made misery, make him unable to harm anyone else. But as she sank to the ground she knew it was wrong, knew it would only hurt her more in the long run.

She had missed him, some part of her.

Look what he had become.

Julian was with her the next moment, his hands free of whatever magical tie Riley had gotten him into. His hands pressed at her skin, and she shoved him away, waving an arm at the hunter.

“Your friend… get… get them, the one you told me about.” She blinked slowly. “I’ll be fine, it just hurts, just- get him tied up.”

Julian looked like he was about to argue, his eyebrows pulling together, before Verun bared her fangs and growled at him.

“Do it, Julian. Stop worrying about me.”

And so Julian grimaced, and he slung the hunter’s unconscious form over his shoulder with a grunt. And when he turned around the corner, disappearing from her sight, Verun let herself crumple, waves of pain ripping through her. A wooden stake wasn’t exactly necessary when it came to killing a vampire… many things could kill her, and anything stabbing into her heart would be fatal.

And a childhood friend had almost been the one to do it.

She was distracted enough that she almost missed the sound of pawsteps approaching her until it was immediately next to her. Then a nose pressed against her cheek and she shuddered.

_ Lucky that I was here. _

She turned her head, peering into the darkness to find a dingo sitting next to her, his ears twitching in concern. “You…”

_ I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep up with you… you’ve had a hard time since your turning, haven’t you? _

Verun leaned into the soft fur, though he was careful not to get blood on himself. “I can’t remember you…”

_ I wouldn’t be surprised if they took memories of important persons from you. Keeps you from running off, even if you did anyway. _

“I don’t… how would they do that?”

_ Very powerful magic, I would presume. You know that magic can be shared, amplified by multiple people using their power all together… I assume that they’ve gotten into the habit of doing so to new vampires. _

Verun felt her eyes begin to close. She was tired, exhausted from the magic she had used to escape, and the wound that was slowly beginning to heal. It would exhaust her further until she was entirely whole again.

_ Don’t worry, sundrop. Asra will be here soon. _

“Asra…” She recognized the name, albeit faintly. “As… ra.”

“Verun!”

“W-wait,  _ Verun? _ What game are you playing at, Ilya?!”

Boots skidded around the corner, and the familiar scent of him brought her some amount of focus as her eyes opened and stared up at him. Behind him, a white-haired individual halted the moment he saw her, his amethyst eyes wide with shock before he stumbled, falling to his knees.

“Verun…” Tears sprang to his eyes, slipping down his face,  _ heartbroken. _ “I- you’re- you’re alive?”

Julian turned to him,  _ Asra, _ and grit his teeth. “She’s not going to be for much longer if you don’t  _ move, _ Asra-”

“I’ll be fine.” Verun patted his hand with a deep breath that made her wince. “I just… I just need sleep… and rest.”

Regardless, Asra shuffled and locked eyes with the dingo beside her. He looked pained, reaching out and scratching him between the ears. “Hey, Ranger… it’s been a while.”

He nudged his nose against Asra’s wrist, his tongue flicking out to lick his skin teasingly.  _ It has been a while. Not quite as long as he feels. _

“Where’s Riley?” She murmured, eyes flickering between the two men above her. “Where did you leave him?”

“He’s at the shop,” Julian murmured, the mark at his throat starting to glow. Verun watched for just a moment, before the wound in her chest started fading-

And then she was wrenching herself away from him with a gasp, stopping the process halfway as Julian started bleeding, the smell making her head spin so desperately as she groaned and shoved his hands away.

_ “Idiot- _ this is- ugh, this is too dangerous for you to take, Julian!” She shoved her head into her hands, trying to cover her nose, her mouth. For a moment she felt like a shark in bloodied water, working herself up into a frenzy, before soft fabric was shoved under her nose. It smelled like hard-packed dirt of traveling trails, gentle herbal tea, something that crooned  _ comfort _ to her body.

Asra.

She pulled the scarf closer until she could focus more on the smell of that instead of the heavy scent of Julian’s blood in the air. Then hands helped her to her feet, fur brushing against her legs, leading. The scarf was wrapped around her, covering her throat and her nose and mouth, leaving her eyes to focus on Asra in front of her. He still looked  _ wrecked, _ eyes red and worried.

But he pulled her along, making sure Julian was following as well, through the darkened, threatening streets. She leaned on him, half hunched over with her pain, until Julian could walk well enough to help her instead. Her head swam, steps getting gradually weaker until she was able to slump down on the low steps leading up to the door that Asra pressed his hand to, undoing a warding spell.

And then Julian pulled her through, settling her down on a small couch inside. His shirt and jacket were soaked through with blood, and he stripped them off quickly and set them aside. The slight damage he had taken from her had already healed, though he looked exhausted from his body healing that as well.

She saw no trace of Riley.

“Where is he?” Her voice was a harsh croak now.

Asra took one of her hands, blushing slightly as he squeezed it. “He’s in the back room. Should I wake him up?”

She shook her head. “No, no… can’t- can’t let him go. He’s dangerous.”

“I noticed.” Asra cradled her cheek in one hand, his eyes on the wound slowly closing up in her chest. “Verun, how long… how?”

“I’ll tell you later.” She smiled as much as she could, trying for reassuring. She didn’t smile much outside of Julian’s company though, so who knows where she landed with that one. “I… don’t remember you, though. I don’t know who… you were to me.”

_ He was your best friend, _ Ranger supplied helpfully, sitting just a few feet away.  _ After Riley left. And then a little more than your best friend, for a while. _

Verun blushed at the dingo’s words. Her familiar? She guessed that’s what he was, at least. She hadn’t known random, exotic dogs to suddenly start talking to her.

“We’ll get stuff figured out later… for now, just rest, you two.” Asra fixed Julian with a stern glare. “That includes you, Ilya.”

“I know, I know.” Julian groaned and sat down on the floor beside Verun. “Who’s going to be watching the hunter?”

“The-? Oh.” Asra shook his head. “I’ll set up… an alarm spell, of sorts. If he moves, we’ll know.”

Verun nodded. “Okay… okay, that will work.”

Julian turned his head to press a kiss to her shoulder, his eyes still anxious and concerned as his eyes locked onto the bleeding wound. It had glanced off her sternum, the hard bone keeping her from most of the harm - but it was still a very bad wound, fatal to most humans. She didn’t want Julian to test and see what kind of damage it would do to him.

So as Asra retreated with an unreadable look up the stairs, Verun let her arm fall over Julian’s shoulder, making grabby hands until he reached up to slip his fingers into hers.

“I’m sorry for acting harshly,” she started, whispering. “I just… didn’t want you to hurt yourself. I’m healing just fine, I’ll just be tired for the next couple days.”

He sighed and kissed the inside of her wrist. “I know, love. It’s just… hard for me to watch you hurt like this, when I know that I can take it away. Won’t you let me-?”

“Maybe once it heals a bit more,” she murmured against the crown of his head, running calming fingers through his hair if only to distract him. “I don’t want to be testing the limits of that mark of yours.”

“Alright,” he whispered in return. He wasn’t happy about her answer, but he accepted it nonetheless.

“You know that I love you, right?” Her voice felt so small, even to her.

“Absolutely. I love you too, darling.”

~~~

Riley was awake by the time the rest of them shuffled into the main room of the shop. Asra kept it closed for the day, putting together a potent potion to help with Verun’s headache from the sunlight she wasn’t able to properly adjust to through the morning hours.

The hunter simply sat at the back room’s table, the one that Asra used to read fortunes, staring blankly back at them.

Asra and Julian had searched him for weapons the night before, finding a couple more knives and a vial of what seemed like some sort of poison. Dangerous stuff, Asra concluded, incredibly so. Stuff made for bringing down the most dangerous of prey, of which… vampires were included.

And now the four of them were in some sort of staring contest, though Riley’s eyes were firmly fixed on Verun. Julian shifted restlessly on his feet, looking uncomfortable, while Asra simply leaned a shoulder against the wall and waited.

“Riley, why are you working for the vampires in Asheliet?” Verun rested her hands on the table, wary of any magic he might try to cast.

But he stayed silent.

Eventually Verun closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Julian? Asra?”

“Yes?” They answered at the same time, the two men glancing at each other with an odd look.

“Do you think you could leave the two of us alone for now?” She smiled as well as she could. She was still slightly bleeding from her wound, though honestly at this point she was running out of blood to properly bleed. Her heart had slowed dreadfully, and her body was becoming colder than ever, covered by an old shirt that Asra had assured her wouldn’t be missed. “Get some pumpkin bread, maybe? Or if you wanted to make tea, just a cup of chai with just a touch of milk and three cubes of sugar.”

Asra gave her an odd look, as she sensed Riley go still.

He was the one who drank his tea like that.

She remembered, even that far back. When he used to stay with her and her aunt, before he disappeared. Before she gave up on having friends, just like he had.

But Asra and Julian both reluctantly stepped out of the room, and she could hear their low voices beyond the thick, muffling curtain.

“Riley-”

“If you think some simple tea will fix all this, you’re wrong,” he said, speaking for the first time in hours. His face was bruised from the hit she had given him.

“Well, I’ve never known tea to make anything worse.” She sighed and slumped back in her seat. “Seriously though, why work with the vampires in Asheliet? They’re… they’re awful. The way they feed, they simply murder people.”

“I don’t get involved with their feeding habits.” His voice was quiet, sullen.

“Did you know?”

He was silent.

“Riley…”

“I told you to stop calling me by my name!” He shouted suddenly, a chord snapping violently as his hands shook. “We’re not- we weren’t friends!”

“Bullshit,” Verun said icily. “You lived with me and my aunt for months, you learned the beginnings of magic with me! And then  _ you _ disappeared! I didn’t know if you had ran away, or if you’d been taken, if you were  _ dead- _ I waited for you on the steps-”

And a blinding headache overtook her, a snap back into place as memories flooded her skull, impressions and feelings, colorful whorls that left her reeling, her head in her hands. This place,  _ this _ shop- it had been her home, for years. She had known that, distantly, but suddenly it felt so much more real, so much more familiar to her.

But a wet nose pressed against her knee made the pain subside, and she was left gasping in shock, one hand dropping to Ranger’s head and smoothing over his fur.

“And when I came back you’d already moved on,” Riley grumbled. “I didn’t have a bed to sleep in anyway, even after I left  _ them-” _

He cut himself off, a sour expression overtaking him. “It doesn’t matter now, anyway. You’re a vampire, I’m a hunter. I was sent to kill you, either way.”

“Riley…” Verun put her head in her hands, pleading. She couldn’t look at him. “I’m sorry, for whoever you left to come back. I’m sorry that you felt unwelcome when you came back, but is that really why…?”

“No.” His answer was short and curt. “I’m doing it because you are a vampire. A monster.”

Her heart twisted in her chest.

“Even when it’s assisting worse monsters?” Her voice was thick in her throat, so hard to get out.

And again, he went silent.

Verun sighed, collecting herself for a few minutes, making sure she had things thought out. “Who led you to me?” She had a feeling she knew already, but she wanted to make sure.

“Why should I tell you? I won’t be having you chase down some innocent person because they turned you in.”

“Verun?” Julian’s voice called to her, just a moment before he peeked in through the curtain. “Here, come out for a moment.”

His hand reached towards her, and carefully he drew her to her feet. She followed his lead out of the back room, turning her head as Asra walked in instead. “What are you two planning?”

“Asra just wants to talk to him, don’t worry,” Julian said with a strained smile. “And maybe I’ll take my own turn… he just wants to try to talk some sense into this guy.”

“Is everything alright?” She leaned against him with a sigh, her eyes sliding closed.

“It’s… it’s fine, love.” Julian kissed her forehead. “I’m just worried. What are we going to do with him, if he refuses to leave us alone?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. She didn’t want to kill him, but if worse came to worst, she wasn’t willing to put Julian’s life on the line. The thought made a shiver run through her. Julian was almost unbearably warm at her back, though she didn’t move away.

“You’re so cold, love…” He hugged her tightly, hands taking hers. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine,” she said faintly. “Just need some more rest.”

“How long do you think you’ll be sleeping?”

“Probably a solid fourteen hours, if I’m going to be honest.” A groan fell from her lips as she thought of it, both annoyed and relieved. “I’ve only healed from something like this once before, and I was- I was still running, then, so I couldn’t rest for too long or I’d be caught.”

Julian was silent for a while, this time. He looked thoughtful. When he did speak, it was slowly, like he was choosing his words carefully. “I’ve… been meaning to ask. He said that he was working for the vampires in Asheliet, the ones that turned you… but why would they send someone after you? A vampire hunter?”

“They believe it’s incredibly dangerous for vampires to be allowed to roam free,” Verun said quietly. “The haunt at Asheliet is incredibly old, generations of vampires old, and a lot of the myths that are fed to the common people were started by them. Things to make them seem… defeatable, I guess. Things to make people feel a little more safe about vampires, so they can feed a bit easier.”

He pursed his lips, nodding slowly. But after just a few seconds a giggle escaped his lips and made a flush crawl up his cheeks as she raised an eyebrow at him. “So what’s up with the whole ‘can’t touch garlic’ myth?”

She smiled at his antics, the first time she’d properly smiled at anything in a while. “Call it a personal preference. It’s not like we  _ can’t _ have it, but gods above does it smell nasty up close with such a sensitive sense of smell.”

Julian chuckled and hugged her carefully. The two of them stood there, close but cautious for her wound. They could both hear the slight hum of Asra’s voice behind the curtain, though so far Verun hadn’t noticed any response from Riley. She wondered what went wrong with her friend, what had hurt him so deeply that he would work with the things he apparently hated.

“I started running because I killed the wrong person,” she said quietly, as they settled.

“What?”

“My… birthing bloodlust, is what they call it. The first thing you feel, when you come back, the blinding, burning hunger. You just have to devour the first living thing near you. There was some mistake, a blip in the system that they have, and someone that wasn’t supposed to be there got too close, and I…” She closed her eyes with a deep breath. “I drained them. Them, and the innocent that was  _ supposed _ to be there, for me. They couldn’t hold me back, and the hunger was so  _ much.” _

“Other vampires couldn’t hold you back?” Julian smiled a little, obviously trying to lighten up the mood just a little. “You must be a strong little gremlin, even among them, huh?”

Verun puffed out a quiet laugh. “It was just… the bloodlust. A hungry vampire only gets stronger the more starved they are. Eventually if they’re left long enough, either they’ll break out of whatever cell is holding them, or… they’ll eventually die, if they can’t get out.”

“So, if you were chased out pretty immediately after you turned, how do you know so much about the others?”

“They brought me out of Vesuvia. Fed me little bits of old, old magic to keep me alive even while I was dying from the plague. They told me about how things would work, some of their basic rules, and for a week they just let me exist around them, teaching me. And then I fucked it all up, didn’t I? Got myself kicked out of the only place that would maybe teach me how to handle all the ups and downs of being a vampire.”

Julian hummed lowly, kissing her hair after a moment. “But, maybe if you hadn’t, we wouldn’t have met. I dunno about you, but I think that would have been a shame.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” she said with a soft smile, kissing his skin. “I just hope…”

“It will be fine, Verun. We’ll figure something out.” He knew the path her thoughts were taking, she had a feeling that his own thoughts had wandered down those paths too many times for him to turn a blind eye to it. “I promise.”

Then Asra stepped out of the back room with a sigh and shook his head. “That guy is stubborn. Who even is he, Verun? You seem like you know him.”

Verun cleared her throat and shifted on her feet nervously, leaning against Julian as she turned towards the white haired magician. “I… he was a childhood friend of mine. We were neighbors, before… he lost his family. And he stayed with me and my aunt here, until we were about fourteen, and then he just disappeared without a word to us.” She shook her head and sighed. “Honestly I’m surprised that we still recognize each other. He’s changed a lot.”

Asra hummed with a sad look. “Ah…”

“What is it?”

“It’s just…” He laughed sadly and shook his head. “Well, I lived with you as well. Here in this shop.”

She paused, her mind trying to catch up with him. And once again Ranger seemed to come out of nowhere, brushing around her legs, easing the pain in her head that started to rise up.

“You…”

“I stumbled into the shop during the Masquerade one year, I kind of got shoved in by the crowd, and. Well, I didn’t want to go back outside, so me and Faust distracted you with our own amusements until your aunt came back. She just kind of assumed we were friends, so she let me stay.”

“How long?” Verun’s voice shook. He  _ lived _ with her, and she couldn’t remember? Anything?

“We met when you were about seventeen? I’ve known you for almost ten years now, counting the few years it’s been since you disappeared.” He smiled softly, sadly, and stepped forward to hug her tightly. “I’m glad you found Ilya again, though. You had at least one of us.”

“Wait, Julian? Again?”

Beside her Julian made his own confused noise, and Asra’s eyes flickered from one to the other.

“You… neither of you… remember?”

Verun slowly shook her head. “No, but uh. Ranger has theorized that the vampires wiped the memories of the most important to me. To make sure that I wouldn’t try to run back to them.”

“Ilya? What happened with  _ you? _ Why can’t you remember, Verun, she…” Asra’s eyes went wide and he buried his face in his hands with a groan. “Oh, no… no, no.”

“What?” Julian spoke up now, as Verun watched in confusion. “What did I forget?”

“Ilya… you two were lovers.” Asra looked up at him, anguished. “You… you had to leave, because of the plague. The Count called all the doctors in the city to the palace, and you were among them.”

“I know,” Julian said, eyebrows pulled together in frustration and confusion. “I was the one who found the cure for the plague, you were there when I gave it to the Count.”

“And when he nearly charged you with attempted murder, yes,” Asra said wryly. “But Verun disappeared before I came to the palace, I was the one that told you about it. We…” His eyes still watered slightly, though he blinked it away quickly. “We thought she had died of the plague, been taken to the Lazaret. Don’t you remember?”

Julian shook his head, a wordless grumble escaping him as he ran a hand through his hair. His eye started to narrow and he sighed shortly. “I… I don’t, it just hurts when I try to remember.”

Verun let out a shaky sigh. “So… Julian was my lover, and you were my best friend. Is there anyone else very important that I have yet to meet?”

Asra shrugged. “Well uh, no offense Verun but. You weren’t exactly the most sociable person in the world, even before you turned.”

“Well, good thing that some things never change?” She tried to laugh slightly, running a hand through her hair. “I don’t know what to do about Riley, though. He’s stubborn, always has been, and if he’s gotten it through his head that he has to kill me…”

She wrapped her arms around herself as Asra hummed quietly. “I wonder if the Countess would be willing… to maybe lock him up for a little bit.”

“The Countess? How would we even pull that off? I don’t think she would like to put a man in the dungeons if she didn’t know if it was for, if we could even get an audience with her. And I don’t think that she would like finding out that it’s for the protection of a vampire.” Julian shook his head at Asra and plucked at his clothing. “And that’s assuming that we could get around the Count. If Lucio caught word of Verun, he’d either have her killed or…”

“What, want to get himself turned into a vampire?” Verun scoffed.

Asra nodded with an unimpressed look. “Sounds like Lucio.”

“.... seriously?”

“Seriously. The man is interested in anything that might grant him some modicum of power.”

Verun snorted slightly. “Idiot.”

“Indeed. But, I can have a private audience with the Countess… Julian, you seem to also forget that the you and I made friends with the Countess while Lucio was sick.” A smirk curved Asra’s lips as he looked at the two of them. “I could probably get a meeting set up by tomorrow, if I went right now.”

With a deep breath, Verun nodded. “... honestly, you should do that. It might be our only chance at getting things settled for right now, while we try to get through to Riley.”

“And I need to find Tinya still, and talk to them,” Julian said quietly. “I have a feeling that they’re the reason Riley found you, Verun.”

She nodded again. “I can watch over Riley for now, if you two want to go out and do that.”

“I don’t think that it’s smart to be leaving you alone right now, love.” Julian leaned over to kiss her forehead. “You’re still healing, and if you’re resting when he tries to attack… well, we don’t exactly have him tied up right now, we only have some sort of alarm spell set.”

“Then… let’s just tie him up, then.” Verun sighed. “You two have important business to attend to, and I have to rest.”

“Nope,” Julian stated, quite suddenly scooping her up into his arms. “Asra, mind if we take the bed?”

“Not at all,” the magician said quietly, smiling in amusement at the two of them. His eyes caught onto Verun’s, and he softened slightly. “I’ll tie him up just in case, though. Can’t be too careful.”

She sighed and let her head slump against Julian’s shoulder with a groan. “Fiiiine. You two are stubborn.”

“Indeed we are, darling.” Julian grinned and kissed her head, before Asra turned away and started shuffling through drawers and shelves, murmuring to himself as the doctor walked up the stairs and up to the bedroom. They got up to the landing and he awkwardly shuffled around to open the door there, before walking to bed and carefully setting her down. He smiled at her for a moment, leaning down to kiss her softly.

“How’s your wound feeling?”

“Like hell,” Verun said quietly, closing her eyes. “It’s starting to itch, so it’ll finish closing up here soon, but…”

“Do you think it’s healed enough for me…?” Julian gently slid his hand under her shirt to look at it, frowning slightly. “It doesn’t look as bad as last night.”

Verun sat in quiet contemplation for a few minutes. She really just… didn’t want him to take her wound at all, honestly. But she knew that until he got to help her or it healed up on its own he would continue asking and feeling guilty about it. And yet, at the same time, it would inevitably make her hungry, when Julian started bleeding.

… but.

She eventually heaved a sigh, feeling a flutter run through her belly, kind of feeling guilty for her reasoning. “Take your shirt off.”

Julian didn’t question, easily shucking off his already bloodstained shirt. “Is that a yes?”

“... yes.” But she held his hand as he reached for her, frowning slightly. “Are… you alright with letting me…?”

“You can take whatever you need from me, love,” he said with a smirk, pulling her up and into his lap. And then his fingertips reached under her shirt until he found her wound, and with a slight tingle a matching puncture appeared in his bare chest, quickly starting to bleed.

And she took a deep breath, pupils dilating automatically at the sharp tang of blood in the air before she dipped her head to lap up the blood that welled up. Julian’s breathing jumped slightly and he gave a shaky breath, his fingers sliding into her hair to seemingly anchor himself.

Thankfully the wound started to close rather quickly, faster than her own body could heal it, and soon she was licking up only the remnants of blood that remained on his skin. But she could tell that the fatigue from healing was settling heavily in both of them, as Julian’s head dropped forward to bump against hers.

So she pushed him down into the piles of blankets and pillows that smelled so powerfully of Asra, her face buried against Julian, so warm next to her. She trusted to be safe, and protected, and loved in this place where she had grown up. So for now she took a deep breath and let Julian’s heartbeat lull her to sleep, the smell of the two people closest to her cradling her into dreams.

~~~

Asra got them their private audience.

Riley was left in the back room for the day, though they untied him to let him eat and drink and go to the bathroom and such. He didn’t speak unless spoken to, most of the time refusing to even look at them unless they made him.

And the next day, when they were preparing, Asra asked Verun to accompany him to the palace.

“I know Nadia, I know that even as much as she trusts me, she won’t want to do anything on my word alone. I’ve already kind of outlined what we want, so she knows that she’s dealing with a vampire.”

Verun took a deep, shaky breath in. She wasn’t ready for this, wasn’t ready to be walking into a palace, a death trap- not for her, but for others. If she was caught and taken in, starved beyond her limits…

“If you think I have to,” she whispered.

Asra pulled her closer into a hug, cheek pressed to hers. “I know you don’t wanna go, Verun. But it’ll be fine, me and Julian stopped by his house to pick up the makeup you’ve been using, and I can help you keep your glamour up over your eyes like Julian told me about, if you need it”

“Okay…”

He drew back, taking her face between his hands to press a kiss to her forehead, leaving a warm little tingle behind. “Just… don’t worry, alright? We’ll be just fine.”

She nodded and closed her eyes for a moment. “Yeah. Okay.”

And they prepared themselves, both Asra and Julian fretting over her as she paced around the shop in a worried haze. Julian was left to watch over Riley, and quietly, her and Asra slipped out the door into the crowd.

Verun held on tight to the hand that Asra had offered her, looking around the crowd and feeling… small, a quiet bead of panic forming in her throat without the tall form of Julian leading her through the streets, his broad shoulders giving her a faux feeling of shelter. But there was a faint echo of magic that trickled in from her fingertips, coaxing her forward. She looked up towards Asra and saw him smile at her, reassuring, and let him pull her along.

By the time they got to the palace, Verun was beginning to sweat. Her body was still cool with her lack of blood and the heat of the sun was almost getting to be too much. They were waved through the gates by guards, and Asra kept her close to her as he led the way into the palace and through the halls.

When they finally stopped in front of a set of doors, Verun was only able to take a final deep breath to prepare herself before Asra knocked and they were summoned in. Inside it seemed to be a lounge room, with soft couches circled around a low table that held a tray of various sweets and fruits for snacking on. Verun’s mouth watered - even with Julian accompanying her the last couple of months or so, she hadn’t actually had fruit in so long, almost since she had caught the plague.

But the woman sitting on one of the couches held her attention. Dark skin, purple ombre hair, flawless makeup. The Countess, Nadia. Their eyes met, bright red against blood that was masked with her old honey-amber. A breath escaped Verun’s lips, shaky with nervousness.

“Hello, Asra. I trust you’re doing well today?”

“I’ve been just fine, Nadia.” Asra released Verun’s hand and moved to sink into the cushions of the couch next to the one the Countess occupied. “How have you been?”

“Lucio has been a headache, but that’s nothing new.” She smiled and barely raised a hand to wave Verun over. “And I take it you’re Verun?”

“Yes, milady,” Verun said quietly.

“So, you’re the vampire of Vesuvia.”

Her reaction must have shown, a tightening of her muscles, a slight drop in the corners of her mouth that had Nadia smiling reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, Verun. I’m not going to do anything to you, not if I don’t have to. I’d like it if you would come sit with us.”

And quietly, she did as the Countess said, dropping on Asra’s other side, as much of a shield as she could afford here in this room. Offending the top woman in the city wouldn’t do Verun much good, as much as she wished to hide herself away.

“Nadia… I know we talked yesterday, but I think that it would help to hear Verun’s side in this.” Asra let his hand trail over her arm, a brush that assured her that he was still there. She wanted to twist away from the feeling.

“Yes, yes… I think it would, thank you Asra.”

At his nudge, Verun turned herself to face the Countess more fully and took a deep breath, trying to comprehend all the words and half-broken sentences swirling around her head. “I… I wanted to see if you would help me, by keeping the hunter that came after me contained, for a while. Until I can convince him to… not… kill me?”

Nadia hummed. “And why is he going after you, Verun? I know that a good number of vampire hunters work for their own agenda, for their own personal vendettas in some cases. What makes you think you’ll be able to change his mind?”

“Because he was an old childhood friend of mind, and he seems terribly conflicted.” Verun shook her head slightly. “I don’t think he actually wants to kill me, now that he knows that the people that sent him are… well, worse than I am, in… certain ways.”

“If someone sent him, don’t you think that he could simply be paid off? Who is he working for? Do you think that he might need protection from his employer?”

The questions fired off in her direction one after the other overwhelmed Verun, for a moment. She felt the chance for her safety without the death of an old friend slipping through her fingers like sand, like ashes.

“I… I don’t think he’s being paid. He’s apparently working for a vampire haunt that’s made their home in Asheliet, so it’s reasonable enough to think that he might be scared of turning against them.” She stared down at the table, at the plate of treats. “In that case, maybe… bringing him here would help? I don’t… I don’t want him getting hurt.”

“He doesn’t seem to think the same of you, Verun,” Nadia said quietly, softly. Trying to comfort her, from the pain of having a friend turn so cruelly against her. “Are you sure it’s worth it?”

Her eyes suddenly filled with tears as her throat closed up. The one person that she could actually remember, the only one that wasn’t either taken by the plague or forgotten, was the one that tried to kill her.

“I can’t,” she sniffled, the tears slipping down her face as she looked down into her lap. “I can’t do that to him, I can’t… sentence him to death, not knowingly, I just-”

Asra wiped the tears from her face with a soft hand, but she pushed his arm away. She couldn’t stand the comfort, all the understanding looks with care and worry etched into their eyes, from people she couldn’t even  _ remember, _ from those who didn’t even know her. She wished that Julian had come with them as well, so she didn’t have to sit here in a room of strangers.

She almost missed Nadia’s words among the thoughts screaming through her mind.

“Alright. I’ll hold him, for now. On one condition.”

Verun wiped her eyes, feeling guilty. She didn’t want to guilt-trip the Countess into holding a dangerous vampire hunter in the palace, but… “What is it?”

“I want you to bring your victims here, when you feed. Whether you carry them or drag them by their shirt, I want them here so that our staff can take care of them. There’s a back entry or two that you can use, and we’ll do our best to make sure that them and their families are taken care of while they recover. Understood?”

Verun blinked, wiping her eyes with her sleeves one more time. She wasn’t entirely sure that she understood, honestly. It would only make more work for the Countess, to keep the fact that she was working with a vampire hidden from Count Lucio.

“Milady…”

“I’ll handle all of it, Verun. But I would rather make sure that the ones that you are using for your feedings are well taken care of, more than what you and Asra here can manage on your own.” Nadia smiled lightly, almost teasing as she leaned forward in her seat to take a tiny pastry from the tray in front of them. “Who knows, maybe people will start looking to be bitten when they figure out they get to stay in the palace while they recover.”

Verun let a little breath puff out of her nose, a terrible excuse of a laugh. “Yes, maybe they will…”

“Now, Asra, how has your shop been faring with all this?”

The magician next to her relaxed, and him and the Countess fell into easy conversation. Asra, thankfully, left her out of it. She felt exhausted already, all too ready to return to Julian’s home and crawl under the covers with him. She was tired of the shop, the shadow that existed in the back room making her shiver every time she looked at the heavy curtain separating her from her attempted murderer.

But eventually the conversation trailed off, and Asra stood with a sigh. “Well, we should start heading back, Nadia. It’s been nice seeing you, and really, thank you, for everything.”

The Countess smiled and nodded. “Of course, Asra. Verun. Just bring the hunter tonight, after dark. I believe Doctor Devorak knows some of the back ways into the palace with the times he’s visited Portia.”

Asra nodded with a smile. “Alright. I’ll see you again soon, Nadia.”

The Countess sent them off with a little smile, and Verun left the room with a wistful glance at the tray of fruit that she had left untouched. Asra nudged her with a small smile, a teasing light dancing in his eyes.

“Do you want to get some fruit on our way back? I know someone in the neighborhood that’s been giving out strawberries from their garden.”

Verun paused, and nodded. “That would be… nice.”

He smiled, and they started walking. “How long has it been since you’ve had fruit, anyway?”

“It’s been a while,” she murmured, glancing over her shoulder as they walked down the hall. Her skin was prickling, screaming that they were being watched. But she saw nothing, no one, and so she hunched her shoulders and quickened her pace, trying to remember the way back outside. “I just want to get out of here.”

Asra kept pace with her, careful not to let her get too far ahead of him and leave him behind. He glanced at her a couple of times, his eyes growing worried, making her want to disappear into the shadows. She didn’t need him worrying after her.

“Are you alright, Verun?” He asked finally.

“I’m fine.” Her answer was immediate, snappish as she kept her head down. They finally got out of the palace itself and were now headed towards the gates.

“Verun…”

“I’m  _ fine, Asra,” _ she growled quietly. He went silent.

And thankfully, he stayed silent as they walked through the streets, though it didn’t stop him from throwing concerned looks at her every once in a while. They stopped by whatever place it was that had the strawberries, and Asra was gifted with an entire basket of the sweet red berries. He laughed with the person handing them off, giving them enthusiastic thanks as they walked away. And then he fell quiet once again, handing the basket off to her, snatching just a couple for himself.

She hesitated to eat, but once she saw him bite into the berry she couldn’t be helped. The first time in what, three- four years? The sweet taste of it was bliss on her tongue, she couldn’t help the small groan she gave at the flavor. She was careful to keep her head down, hiding the shape of her fangs as well as she could as she nipped at the tender flesh of the berry with a happy hum. It had been too long for a fruit eater such as herself, as her aunt used to call her.

When they got back to the shop, it was to find Julian stretched out on the couch, flipping through a book that he had found. He looked up at the two of them and bounded to his feet. “So? How’d it go?”

“We got it figured out,” Verun said shortly, throwing the leftovers of her strawberry into the small bin just behind the counter before reaching for another.

“So it’s all worked out? What are we going to do?”

“Nadia just wants us to take Riley up to the palace after dark. I assume she’ll have Portia waiting for us ready to take him.”

“Portia-” Julian paused, and blinked. “Oh, I suppose she does work closely with the Countess…”

Asra gave him a lazy smirk. “And you thought that we would never be able to get to meet with her.”

“Oh, hush. I just… forget that Pasha is kind of. Up there, on the social ladder.” Julian shifted as Verun watched, a hand running through his hair.

“She’s still just a servant at the palace, Ilya.”

“But she’s the  _ head _ servant. There’s a huge jump up to that from ‘just a servant’, Asra.” There was pride in his voice.

“Who’s… Portia?” Verun frowned slightly, biting into yet another strawberry.

“My younger sister!” Julian grinned at her widely. “She gets to be all stately and important up at the palace, while we common beggars get to drink and have fun.”

A quiet, barely-there laugh bubbled up her throat, and Verun pressed her smile to the strawberry in her hand. Julian was a welcome distraction from the shadows crowding around her heart, trying to drown her.

So they stayed there, in the shop, Julian helping tend to whatever little upkeep tasks Asra could come up with. Verun watched as he nearly jumped out of his skin when a lilac-colored snake dropped onto his shoulder, a smile crawling onto her lips as Ranger eventually came to lay over her feet.

There was a warmth that had taken hold in her heart, though it flickered and came close to dying at times. It was like a candle on a windy night, kept just far enough away from the window to keep it alight. Sometimes it burned brighter than others, like when Julian snuck her kisses as he passed her, back and forth across the shop as Asra directed him. Or when Asra snuck a hand into her basket to steal a few berries, to have Ranger snap playfully at his wrist.

It definitely came close to dying as they pulled Riley from his chair at sunset, letting him stretch his limbs out with a dark look to all of them. And when they stepped out of the shop into the deserted night streets of Vesuvia, she nearly turned tail and ran. And as they followed the path along the aqueduct and Verun heard the echoes of voices in her head, crying  _ monster, monster, _ she almost let Julian see her tears. But as they turned him over to the short young woman who assured them that he would be taken care of, that little warmth hummed. Just enough to keep her from crumbling into ash right there.

She would figure out a way to make this right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also fun fact, this chapter is exactly 15,000 words. I didn't mean for it to be until I saw that it was at 14,998 words and decided that I could fit two more words in for a nice even number.
> 
> And as always, I've written most of this at 2am throughout my week so if there's errors/wacky pronoun switches since I've apparently been having problems with that recently (oops Julian and Verun switch pronouns for a moment)... it's probably cause I've been tired as shit, lmao. Hope yall have enjoyed it though.


	3. Update Stuff

Okay folks... so, since it now October and I will be participating in both [OCtober](https://unofficial-oc-tober.tumblr.com/post/187952689709/october-prompts) and [Kinktober](https://pabstbeerpussy.tumblr.com/post/188066464033/pabstbeerpussy-october-is-approaching-which) (god help my soul, I already have days to catch up on) which I'll be posting on here as well, work on this fic will be paused until then. Maybe I'll make the finishing of this my Nanowrimo project, if I end up with the time to do so. For now, I'll do something that will hopefully please whoever comes through, and help get some of my own worldbuilding out for this AU that I've created.

On the subject of vampires...

  * Groups of vampires are called haunts. Their lairs may be called... well, _lairs,_ or haunts as well. Or dens. Everybody seems to have their own name for a vampire haunt's living place, so it gets kind of confusing at times.
  * Vampires are much like humans, in the fact that they aren't technically undead. They are still living, but their bodies are much more resilient to damage than a human.
  * As shown early on, vampires can't regulate their own body temperature. Generally they stay in places that are cool but not _too_ cool, though Verun is a bit different as she maintains a strong connection to fire magics, and can therefore warm herself magically if needed. If a vampire reaches an extreme of either hot or cold, it becomes extremely painful for them until they can level out again.
  * Turning someone into a vampire involves two things - being completely drained of blood, and a 'kiss' from the vampire doing the turning. Very gross, but it's basically coughing up some of their own blood (human anatomy can kiss my ass, this is _fantasy_ I can do what I want) to give to the other person. It's very rare that the new vampire remembers what exactly happened.
  * Vampires are strongest immediately after being turned. They're completely starved and overwhelmed with it. When she was turned, Verun fought her way through a few sets of iron bars before fleeing, something that she couldn't do now unless she starved herself again.
  * The runes on the ribbon tattoos that a vampire gains after tasting human blood are unique to every vampire. The runes are in essence a record of their first victim, and the life that the new vampire is destined to live. It's very powerful magic, and while you _can_ technically remove the tattoos, it requires equally powerful magic to do so.
  * Vampires can... _technically_ get drunk off of blood, if their victim is drunk enough. It's very hard to, but it's happened. 
  * They can also get drunk themselves, if they just want to drink like a normal person. They tend to have a much higher resistance to alcohol than humans, but yknow. (Verun could totally drink Julian under the table if she wanted to)
  * With the exceptions being decapitation and the piercing of the heart (with ANY material), vampires can't be killed nor permanently maimed. Lost limbs and other such things will eventually grow back, though it might take a few years. Their bodies heal much quicker than a human's, but it still isn't a quick process.
  * Vampires don't live forever! They'll live around 200-300 years, depending on how well they take care of their bodies.

On the subject of universe...

  * The plague still happened in this universe, obviously, but it wasn't magical. A traveler carrying sickness just came through and started the entire thing.
  * Julian was in fact the one to find the cure, and give it to Lucio as stated somewhere in the last chapter. When he started recovering, Lucio just got pissy with Julian for not finding it _faster_ and maybe tried to charge him with attempted murder before Nadia shut him up weigsdkgowei
  * Lucio is still alive and kicking if that wasn't obvious. Nadia never fell into her slumber and such, and so far she's actually been able to wrest some amount of control over Vesuvia from him, so they're more or less actually ruling together. Lucio also has a lover, who we might see later on...
  * I know people like Asrian angst BUT in this Asra and Julian were okay together. Asra was Verun's best friend and almost her lover before Julian came around, and while there was some jealous tension between them, it wasn't like... ugly drama jealous. They had their fling during the plague after Verun disappeared, and it was _tender, okay. It was comfort sex between two people that cared for each other. Asra didn't mistreat Julian, they just don't really talk now._
  * ..... I have Feelings about Asrian, okay?
  * BUT in this there probably won't be much interaction with the major Arcana. This story is mostly focused on the relationship between Julian and Verun (and Asra, but we'll see how that progresses) and Verun's character growth as a vampire. She'll recover from her current thoughts revolving around how much of a monster she is by the end of the story~ I promised a happy end, after all.

And a small thing, on the subject of Ranger...

  * Verun's familiar, Ranger, is uh... a rather ephemeral character in and of himself, honestly. He tends to just disappear and appear where and when Verun needs him. He's a free spirit, and will often wander off when things start getting boring. So if he seems to just kind of appear randomly, just keep that in mind for the future lkwegoisdg

Anyway, thanks for tuning in, those of you who have maybe gotten hooked. I can only hope that yall enjoy what I put out 030 I'll be putting out more for this after October ends.


	4. Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someday, things will be touched by the sunlight. But for now, her nights are touched with shadow and blood, and nothing will be easy. But things will turn for the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOF, hiya people, it's been a goddamn _month_ and if I'm being honest with myself I haven't actually worked on this as much as I wanted to but yknow, what you gonna do? I actually have a job now that's been sucking out all my energy, but I've put in some words with this where I can. I really do want to see this thing to completion, but uh... *nervous laughter* I sometimes struggle to find motivation so? Comments, kudos, general screeching is welcome.
> 
> This chapter is kind of short but! I felt very much like it didn't really need to get any longer. A _lot_ happens in this chapter and tbh it's made me cry a few times because baby Verun has a lot of emotions and honestly I'm just a weepy bitch so whatever.
> 
> Also just a warning! This chapter deals with some heavy topics (lol what's new) but Verun just. She's just super super emotional I'm so sorry guys like UGH I'm gonna cry. Also the violence tag is officially like A Thing so yall have been warned.
> 
> <strike>Also hi I'm very much tempted to make this into an ot3 fic, guess who's involved</strike>

Things found an odd measure of normalcy in the following days. Verun spent days on end in the city for the first time in… who knew how long. Three days without so much as a step into the forest, and she still had moments where she felt like she could barely breathe but… it was nice, being so close to Julian.

She was still figuring Asra out, as much as her mind called for her to relax around him.

With Riley gone from the shop, she felt the shadows in the building move off, leaving the bricks and stones with only a need for a good scrub. His voice still echoed in a corner of her mind, busy spitting acid into her thoughts even as Julian covered her skin with loving touches.

“Are you okay, love?” Julian’s breath was a brush on her skin, his face tucked against the back of her neck.

She still couldn’t believe that he loved her. That he was so deeply, irretrievably, in love with a vampire. Someone that could turn around and tear out his throat with barely a thought, leave his lifeblood pooling on the wooden floors of his home. A creature that was so feared, so hated;  _ a monster, _ whispered Riley’s voice in her ear,  _ you don’t deserve- _

“Verun?”

Her breath shook out of her, a breath that she didn’t realize she had been holding. “Sorry, what was that?”

His lips met her shoulder, bare skin pressing to her clammy surface. Hands brushed down her sides, curling around to her front, large hands with long fingers spreading over her belly like sinful, runed ribbons. “Are you feeling alright?”

The first time they’d actually come back to his home since everything happened. First time they’d had time to herself, and she was ruining their time together already. The thoughts made her flinch slightly, her head twitching at the harsh words that ran through her skull.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, voice hoarse.

Julian kept her pressed against his front as he shuffled them backwards to sit properly on his bed, pulling her into his lap. He still had an erection, but was doing a very good job of putting that aside at her own apparent hesitance. It strained and twitched, pressed between Julian’s belly and her ass, but he kept his own reaction to a minimum.

“Do you want to go home?” He pressed his face into her hair, resting his head against hers.

“Maybe.”

“Do you want to be alone?”

Her breath again came out shaky.  _ Yes, _ her mind said. But her heart ached at the thought of silence, without the flutter of a heartbeat next to her.

“No,” she whispered.

“Do you want to go right now?”

“No… no, I don’t think so.”

She felt Julian’s small, sad smile against her skin. His lips brushed over her shoulder as he spoke. “Do you just want to sleep for now?”

_ Yes. _ But the voice in the back of her head snapped and a tumble of bullshit fell from her mouth before his mouth was on hers, covering. Gentle hands turned her around, lips trying their damn best to keep hers occupied until Julian had his hands on her hips, holding her to hover over his erection, peering up into her eyes as he led her to press down, down onto him.

But the moment he was fully seated, a deep moan echoing in his chest, a quiver ran through her and something frail and trembling broke within her. He paused, closed eyes opening to again lock gazes with her before it all blurred out.

And she was pulled from his lap with barely a noise, limbs stiff and unwieldy as Julian laid her down, and heavy guilt dripped down her spine, tears spilling from her eyes and down her throat to pour over her ribcage with black ink, staining her bones with tarnish like blood stains cloth. His hand cradled her face, murmured words bubbling from his lips and passing through her, wiping at the stains and spreading, ruining, setting fire to oil in her lungs so that she burned from the inside out.

“Darling, darling, my love- oh, love, I’m sorry-” he sounded panicked, desperate, apologetic, and it was wrong,  _ wrong, _ he wasn't the one that needed to sound like that- "I'm sorry love, what did I do? Are you alright?"

_ Disgusting, useless, selfish- _ "Please, please I just- I don't want to ru-ruin this for you, I  _ don't-" _ her words turned into sobs, body curling in on itself as she choked on smoke and ash and it  _ hurt. _ It hurt when she couldn't even bring herself to do this, couldn't even keep Julian safe, got him stuck in the crossfire of the dangerous things around her. She couldn't bring him pleasure, couldn't keep him safe, she chased away his friends and had already caused him so much pain. And there was still a risk of her hurting him, irreparably, and it terrified her so horribly.

Julian held her close, pressing lips to her forehead, arms tight around her. "Oh, love, my dear Verun… I don't, I don't want to, not if you don't want it too. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to push you…"

_ "Julian," _ she whispered hoarsely into his neck, shuddering with her tears, and she couldn't stop her shivers, the way her voice shook. "Julian, I've- I've ruined  _ everything, _ I just- I just want to do something for you and I can't and y-you- you keep…" Again her voice shook into nothingness, but the wetness streaking down her cheeks continued to pool.

“Verun…” A hand ran through her hair, the other smoothing over the skin of her back, her shoulders, her arms. “No, no, Verun, you haven’t ruined anything. Things just happened… shhh, you don’t need to do anything for me, my love.” He gently pulled her closer, shuffling the two of them around until her head was on his chest, him slightly propped up against the head of the bed as he held her. “Verun, you… you’ve made me so happy with the time you’ve spent with me. Please, please don’t blame yourself for what’s happened.”

“How  _ can’t _ I blame m-myself though?” Her hands balled into the sheets and she felt so angry - with herself, with Julian’s insistence that she did nothing wrong, with the fact that she so desperately wanted to believe him. “H-how can you be  _ happy _ with me? You never see me, I’m never around and you- and you-”

“My dear…” He cupped her face in both hands and leaned over, kissing her, and she so desperately wanted to fall into that kiss before he drew away just enough to speak. “My Verun… I promise, I’m happy just the way we are. I do wish I could see you more often, but I know why you have to stay away. You don’t have to prove anything to me, you don’t have to push yourself into anything you don’t want for my sake. I promise.”

_ I promise. _ His words tore through her and she couldn’t string together words properly, laying there in the warm curl of his body and shuddering and shivering her way through her tears with quick breaths that Julian was quick to calm. Just like the way he had at the aqueduct, he held her, directed her to breathe,  _ in and out, just like that, it’s alright. _

And after all that, when the tears ran dry and she couldn’t bring herself to move, Julian kissed the top of her head with a near silent sigh.

“You know I love you, right?”

“... Yeah.”

“Good. Because I love you a lot.”

“... I love you too.”

~~~

Verun went home when she woke up. She left Julian, asleep in his bed, with a note to let him know she was alright, and slipped out into the early morning light.

And she stayed away for a couple of nights, before the hunger finally became a needle digging into her belly, insistent and impossible to ignore. Her breath shook in her throat, but she knew what to do.

The streets weren’t so quiet as they had been when Riley was around, and she was able to spot a target rather quickly. With dark cloths covering all of her face but for her eyes and mouth, she drifted closer with a quick spell to hide the noise of her footsteps.

An older gentleman, tired and a little drunk from the looks of it. She never liked the odd tang of alcohol in the blood, but drunks were the easiest to take and hold still while she fed, too inebriated to fight back and make their skin tear against the sharpness of her fangs. He hummed to himself, eyes half lidded as he slumped against the wall with a shake of his head.

Slowly she stepped to him, laying a hand on his shoulder and turning him around, pressing him against the wall with a slow gentleness. Even as fear sparked in his eyes, she knew that he was too dumbfounded and scared to shout a cry for help. Still, just in case she clamped a hand over his mouth - a cry of pain was just as likely to escape from the man - and her fangs dug into his neck, just shy of the dangerous arteries.

He sobbed against her hand as she drank, bloodlust sparking at the first taste of the metallic, drunk tang on her tongue. But it was familiar by now, the bloodlust easing from an unbearable ache in her belly to an uncomfortable hollow, to a sated state of not-quite-full that she took as her queue to lay off. So she retreated, fangs sliding out of his skin with a gush of blood that she dabbed away with a bit of cotton bandage, before patching the man’s wound up with some of the salve Julian had been supplying her.

And when he tried to wobble away, mouth working in a wordless cry, she grabbed him and threw the man over her shoulder. She had a deal to fulfill with the Countess. So she made her way towards the palace, following the streets to the aqueduct and further until she saw Portia’s cottage, the man wriggling and letting out drunken whines. The lights were still on.

So she made her way through the garden surrounding the house, and fearfully knocked on the door. At this point the man had, she assumed, passed out due to the shock and fear of his situation, as he had stopped moving but was still warm and alive against her.

The door opened, and the girl Verun had met just last week stared back at her, her mouth dropping open.

“Oh! Verun, right? Uhhh. Is that your…”

“My… victim. Yes.” She looked away slightly, not able to meet the bright girl’s gaze.

“Here, come on. I know that someone told me that you’d probably be feeding tonight, but I guess I forgot that I was supposed to be the one like… leading you.” Portia smiled and touched Verun’s unoccupied shoulder. “You alright with carrying him for a little while longer? Or I can get him to the palace myself, it’s no problem.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Alright! Here, just let me get shoes on…” She disappeared from the doorway and Verun sighed, closing her eyes for half a second. “Cool! Let’s go before it gets too much later.”

And she led her through the palace gardens, through the hedge maze, through the halls closest to the Countess’s wing and into a guest room. Portia opened the door for her, and Verun let the man down into the bed as gently as she could. The other woman tucked the man in snuggly, checking on some things with him as she hummed idly to herself until she was apparently satisfied.

“Thank you, Verun,” Portia murmured, shutting the door behind them once they made it out of the room.

The thanks nearly sent her reeling, Verun turning wide eyes onto the servant girl. “Thank me… for what?”

Portia shrugged with a smile. “Thanks for looking out for my brother. He’s kind of a doofus sometimes, but the way he talks about you… it’s nice to see him smile like that. And he really doesn’t look as exhausted as he usually does.”

“I- I’m…”

“And- and also for like… oh, I don’t know. Just being a good person.” She laughed quietly and shook her head. “Sorry, I’m kind of out of it. But it’s kinda nice to know that all the myths about vampires aren’t really true, with how horrible they seem in the stories. You really wanna take care of people, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Verun forced out, quietly, eyes still locked onto Portia. “If I can.”

“Well, it seems like you’ve been doing a good job, in my opinion.” She smiled back at Verun and shrugged. “But here, let’s get you out of here. I have a feeling you’ll be wanting to get home, huh?”

“Yeah…”

Portia led her back out of the halls and back to her cottage, giving Verun a goodnight and a hesitant hug before heading into her home and leaving the vampire out in the quiet night.

She went home that night feeling confused, but oddly light. She had to talk about Julian about him talking about her to other people, though. There was no need for people to be getting any ideas about who she was.

~~~

“Will you come out with me, tonight?” Julian held her in his lap, reclining against the wall and staring up at her with a small, anxious smile.

“Out?” She toyed with the edge of his shirt, the loose collar of it. “Out where?”

“To the Raven. I want to say that you’ve seen me there before?” He smirked a little, fingers running up under her shirt. She’d been warming up again, these days. Finally, fully recovering from her wound left by Riley. “I… I want to try something.”

“What is it?” She frowned slightly, eyes stubbornly on the column of his throat.

“I want you to meet my other friends,” he said with a surprising amount of confidence. “I know that Tinya wasn’t exactly a great first impression for the other people that I know, but I think that maybe… they’d like you. And at least one of them has had enough run-ins with more supernatural folks that they probably wouldn’t freak out too much. And I’ve kind of been buttering them up, honestly, and they know that you haven’t actually killed anyone while you’ve been here so I think that they’d be more trusting of you anyways-”

“Do you really want me to?” She knew the answer to that, even as a strange excited nervousness crackled and popped in her fingertips. Scared, for the possibility that Julian would lose the rest of his friends because of her, and excited… that was more of an unknown for her.

“Yes.” He sat up, holding her close with hands at the base of her back so that he was half leaning over her, their lips only centimeters apart. “I think- I hope you’ll like them. Echo can kind of be a bit much at time, but she’s a sweetheart, and Gen- she’s Tinya’s sister, but she’s really understanding and friendly. Aiku you kind of have to watch out for, but he’s a charmer first and foremost.”

She sighed and closed her eyes, drawing herself a bit closer to him until their lips met. “Alright. I’ll go with you… on one condition.”

“Anything,” he said, breathlessly.

“If anything goes wrong, or if I start feeling overwhelmed-”

“We’ll be out of there. You don’t even have to ask.” She felt his smile, beaming and warm as he nuzzled his nose into her neck. 

Verun let a small smile curl her lips and opened her eyes. “Okay.”

He laughed, and rolled onto her, making a half-fake wheeze escape her. “Ahhhh, Verun~ I love you.”

“Weirdo,” she murmured quietly, accepting his weight on top of her with a smile. “I love you too.”

~~~

With makeup applied and glamour changing the color of her eyes, the two of them set out a few hours before sundown. Julian walked with her, the two of them arm in arm as he nearly vibrated with barely-contained excitement. Or maybe it was nerves, just as much as Verun was feeling.

But as they arrived at a seedy-looking tavern, he gave her a wide grin and swooped down to kiss her cheek. “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” she said quietly.

“That’s the spirit,” he chuckled, pushing the door open and leading her into the warm light beyond.

“Eyy, Doctor Devorak, back from the dead! Where have you been recently?” A voice almost immediately called from across the room, making Julian’s grin brighten.

“I’ve been busy, Aiku! I trust you haven’t gotten into too much trouble?” Julian let his arm slip from Verun’s, instead taking her hand and leading her to the table tucked into the back corner. It seemed just a little more shaded than the rest of the room, already half-packed with people.

The speaker was a blonde man with starkly beautiful blue eyes, a gaze that cut through Verun with a sharp grin. “Oh-ho, is this who you’ve been busy with? You must be quite the catch for the good doctor, friend.”

Verun found a flush working its way up onto her cheeks before a blue-haired woman next to him punched his shoulder.

“Oh, shut up, Aiku. At least let the two of them sit down before you start flirting.”

“Juuuuliaaaan!” A body slammed into Julian’s, nearly knocking him off balance as he let go of Verun’s hand to catch himself on the table. A girl clung to him, legs around his thighs and her arms around his chest. “Ahhhh, you’re back, I was worried!”

He laughed and patted her head, steadying her as her legs dropped to the ground and she stood up properly, the top of her head not even clearing his shoulder. And then the girl’s red eyes turned to Verun, an innocent grin spreading over her features as a grey parrot came and landed on her shoulder. The shirt she wore looked suspiciously like Julian’s, a belt cinched around the waist to keep the collar from falling open too much.

“Ohhh, Jule, is this your giiirlfrieeeend?” She stepped closer to Verun, mischief sparking in her eyes. “No wonder you’ve been gone for so long, you’ve probably been giving her all your attention!”

Julian just laughed and urged the girl into the seat before him, leading Verun to follow him onto the bench with a hand in hers. “Yes, yes, calm down you three. This is my uh… my lover, Verun.”

“Oop! Shouldn’t have assumed-!” The girl blushed a little. “It’s nice to meet you, Verun. I’m Echo, the blue-bee is Gen, and the flirty dude is Aiku.”

Verun smiled a little at all of them. “It’s nice to meet you three,” she said.

“My pleasure,” Aiku drawled, head resting in one hand. “Now, not to pry, but what have you two been up to? I don’t think that you can stay in bed for three weeks straight, but we haven’t seen Julian in a while.”

Verun’s mind kind of went blank. Her and Julian had been seeing each other for months now, and outside of the times that she was in the city she didn’t really keep track of Julian’s schedule.

Thankfully, Julian himself had an answer for them. “Oh, it’s not really because of Verun.” He shrugged with a bit of an embarrassed look. “I’ve been off doing my own stuff. I’m sorry I worried you guys."

“Mhm.” Gen rolled her eyes and gave Verun a critical look. It was then that Verun was reminded that the blue-haired girl was Tinya’s sister… did she know what she was? She could only meet Gen’s eyes for a few seconds before she ducked her head nervously. “So, how did you and Verun meet? I’m surprised that you haven’t brought her around until now.”

“Oh, uh… well. It was more of just a happenstance than anything. I just ran into her once on my way back home, and she didn’t really have anywhere to stay, so I let her stay with me for a bit.”

“I’ve been staying with a friend of mine outside of the city,” Verun supplied quietly, hoping to douse any suspicions that the group might have.

“You’re surprisingly quiet for having thrown your lot in with Julian.” Aiku grinned and leaned forward. “He’s quite the talker, you know? You don’t seem to be the kind of person to like a lot of people, honestly.”

“You’ve only known me for a few minutes,” she returned defensively.

“Yeah, Aiku!” Echo threw what looked like a cashew at him, and he pouted slightly at her. “Leave her alone before you scare her off! It’s time to celebrate Julian’s return, anyway. Drinks, anyone?”

The group all gave their orders, half of them things that Verun would have never thought was the name of an alcoholic beverage, before Echo looked expectantly at Verun.

“O-oh, I’m fine. I don’t need anything.”

“Oh, nonsense! There’s water and I think Barth has some real good lemonade if you want something that isn’t spiked.” Echo smiled at her, charged with excited energy.

“I… suppose lemonade wouldn’t be bad.”

“Cool!” And then Echo seemed to simply vault herself over both Julian and Verun herself, landing on her feet before her parrot came and landed on her shoulder once again as she slipped through the crowd to gather their drinks.

Verun glanced at Julian and he smiled, leaning over to plant a kiss on her cheek, staying close for a moment to murmur in her ear. “Just kinda jab me if you feel like you need to go, alright?” And he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

She nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder as they waited for their drinks.

~~~

The night passed well enough. Verun got a couple of sips of pretty much everyone’s drinks by the time the crowd started thinning out, leaving the group in a quiet bar with just a few other patrons scattered about in the corners. It was late at night at that point, and the bartender was busying himself with something unseen behind the counter.

And Verun was tensing up. Gen’s eyes had followed her almost all night, accusing and yet curious all the same. Julian was slowly gearing up to tell the group what she was, tell them that they had spent the night in the company of a vampire.

But then in through the window a raven flew, screaming a warning just a moment before the door banged open and everyone in the room seemed to tense up, ready to run. Then the back door opened as well, and Julian nudged Verun out of the seat so that he could stand, pulling her behind him.

The men that had just entered seemed armed to the teeth, swords and daggers sheathed in plain sight. They weren’t part of the city guard, that was for sure, with their ragged clothes and uneven smiles.

The man that seemed to be in the lead stepped up to the bartender. “Coins up, barkeep. Don’t want to keep me waiting.”

The bartender glared hard at the man. “Analee. I don’t have the money that you want, you stubborn bull.”

“No, but you  _ do _ have tonight’s earnings. It’ll have to do.”

“I don’t owe you anything-”

“Ah, ah. Is that what we say to the men that are actually armed?” Analee gave a slow grin and tapped the top of the bar with a hand covered in rings that extended into metal claws. “Coins up here, Barth. Or I’ll see that there’s blood left on the floor tonight.”

Julian tensed up, and Verun could see him glance towards the back door, still being guarded by a party of five or so men - that they could see. There might be more outside that were waiting. To the side, Aiku pulled himself and Gen out of the bench, and Echo came sidling up beside Verun, sitting on the edge of the table nervously as her parrot fluffed up on the table.

A bag of coin landed on the bar, surprisingly small.

Analee’s face twisted into a scowl. “That’s not all of it, Barth. I mean for you to give me  _ all _ of it.”

“That is all of it. I’ve been taking a fair bit more I-owe-you’s recently.”

The man’s sword flashed through the air, pointed directly at Barth’s throat. Julian lurched forward, his feet stuck in place, and Verun’s eyes watered. No matter where she went, it seemed like trouble followed her. And now there might be bloodshed, and she was caught between exposing herself to save the barkeep or staying put and seeing an innocent man be murdered.

She hated that it was such a hard choice.

Julian stepped forward finally, hands clenched into nervous fists at his sides. He too knew the odds were against them in this fight. “Analee! Leave him alone, you braggart!” His voice seemed to boom through the silence that had fallen over the room at the group’s entrance.

The man turned towards Julian, a sardonic grin on his face. “Ah, the Doctor Jules. Nice to see you again, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you in town. I still haven’t forgotten what  _ you’ve _ done, healer boy. Boys, could you hold that group of his?”

Verun could feel the panic that shot through Julian’s eyes, the group at the back of the building surged forward, grabbing Aiku and Gen first, then Echo, and finally Verun. She went willingly, for now, eyes widening and landing on the others. She could save them. She knew she could. Four people against a vampire, and if the others were smart they could run, get away from here, and she could handle the rest of it.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill them where they stand, Jules.”

“Because they’re innocent, Analee,” Julian said, his voice shaking. “Don’t do this, don’t hurt people that weren’t even there.”

“Mmm…” Analee tilted his head to the side with a thoughtful look. “No. I really think I rather would. Starting with that girl you were so trying to protect.”

Julian whirled around as the person holding Verun tightened their grip on her, preparing to stab at her. Instead she whirled around, taking one of their wrists and gripping, hard, harder, until they were forced to drop their weapon, and harder still until she heard a brutal pop and they screamed in pain.

From there it turned into a flurry of motion. The people holding the others of the group straightened up at the threat she suddenly presented, until she lunged forward, toward the woman holding onto Echo. The girl in her grasp flinched as the woman’s blade cut into the skin at her throat, drawing blood that made Verun’s pupils dilate, and she snatched the wrist away from Echo as quickly as the woman had cut.

But then swords were bearing down on her, and though Verun was able to move out of the way of one, the other fell upon her shoulder, slicing deep into her skin as she moved forward. Her magic raged at her fingertips, ready to burn, to consume, but she couldn’t focus on keeping her glamour up and fighting at the same time.

So she let the glamour go. She took a deep breath, blinking as her eyes again became that certain shade of bloody red as she swept forward and fire burned at her fingertips, pressing to the closest man’s face to make him scream as he was blinded with it.

And as she reached for the next person coming closer, she saw the way another person that had been standing by the door was approaching Gen from behind, rushing forward to skewer her on his blade. And Verun lunged, grabbing her by the shoulders and shoving her aside, trying to get out of the way - but the blade ripped into her anyway, opening a ragged cut that would kill a normal person. But instead she growled and kicked at the man, following up the blow with a brutal punch that knocked him to the floor.

It hurt. It hurt so badly, Verun’s breath burning in her chest with every movement she took, but there were people coming for Julian, and now with the distraction that she was providing fights were popping up at both the back and front doors, and Analee was too close to Julian with that damned sword of his.

She skated across the floor, magic making the wood slick enough to slide on, and a hand latched onto Analee’s throat the moment he was about to swing, and she half tripped as her magic stuttered, but she managed to slam him down into the floor hard enough to make his skull smack against the floor. He scrambled at his side, the hand with the clawed rings scratching deep marks into her side as he retrieved a dagger with his other hand and tried stabbing at her as his breathing was cut off.

She barely even struggled to keep him from cutting her further, more focused on keeping him from breathing. The violence needed to stop. She needed him unconscious and unable to direct the people following him.

And so she took the cuts, she took all the wounds, and tightened her hand around his throat until he stopped moving. Eventually the lack of sound around her reached her mind, the scent of blood, and Julian was there to take her hand away from Analee’s throat as he drew her away, eyes skittering across her bloody form.

“Verun- oh, oh no, are you-” He looked so terrified, worried about her. “Verun, please-”

She started crying. Hot tears welled up in her eyes, from the pain, from the emotional abuse that had been laid on her for so long, from the fear of the eyes around her, boring into her own blood red eyes. She laid her hands over her face, shaking, and sobbed.

She felt Julian’s arms around her, heedless of the blood once more, and she leaned against him. “I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, her voice strained and quiet. “I’m so sorry, I’m s-sorry.”

“No, no.” He kissed her head, her cheeks, her nose, her mouth. “Don’t be sorry, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s okay now, we’re all safe.” And his hand pressed to her shoulder where she had been cut and his throat started glowing, but she was too tired and too scared to stop him from taking the wound. She saw the blood bloom at his shoulder, soaking through his shirt in seconds. He winced but didn’t complain, pulling her closer. “It’s okay, Verun. You saved them.”

“I-I didn’t want to h-hurt them,” she stuttered, face pressed against his chest. “I ke-keep attracting trouble, Julian-”

“This wasn’t because of you, love.” He ran a hand over her hair, his voice dropping to a whisper in her ear. “Are you going to be able to recover from this? Do you need help healing?”

She nodded shakily before her entire body shuddered with a sob. “I-I’ll be f-fine…”

Footsteps approached them and Verun raised her head, face streaked with tears as she looked up to meet Gen’s eyes. She looked confused, like Verun was something from the deep sea dragged up in her net that she’d never seen before.

“You’re a vampire?” She said it for the room to hear, and Verun flinched away from it.

Still, she did her best to take a deep breath to steady her breathing, and nodded. “Y-yes.”

“Julian.” Gen turned her eyes to the man in question. “You really are a crazy bastard, but… well, I guess Tinya really didn’t give her the chance she deserves.” She sighed and straightened up. “... thank you, Verun. For saving my life.”

The room had gone still as she mentioned a vampire, but now with her thanks it seemed to buzz with interest. Verun saw people craning their heads to get a look at her, trying to get a glimpse of the vampire of Vesuvia. After her show they were apparently a little more than willing to let her go and simply appreciate the fact that she had saved lives.

Echo came up to her, still bleeding from the small cut in her neck, and dropped into a crouch with a smile on her face, though she seemed more shaken up. Just a few steps behind her was Aiku, who was smiling amicably and twirling a dagger in his fingers.

“You okay? You’re still bleeding pretty badly,” she said, eyes honestly concerned. It made Verun almost feel guilty, though she started to wipe away the mess of tears and snot on her face from her crying.

“I’ll be fine,” she murmured quietly, feeling the pressure of so many eyes upon her. “I’ll just bleed until I don’t have anything left.”

“Well… me and Gen know someone that could help.” Echo glanced up as Gen hummed lowly, uncertain.

“You want to take her to Chailyn?”

“Well… yeah. Chai is a very good healer, I’m sure she could help Verun.”

“But she  _ is _ a vampire. We don’t know if vampires… yknow. Require any special healing processes, and it’s late at night.” Gen frowned.

“I don’t want to bother anyone,” Verun piped up, unable to meet anyone’s gaze. She leaned into Julian and shoved her face against his chest, trying to avoid the scent of blood in the room as her stomach seemed to seize up in anger, frustrated with the fact that there was so much spilled that wasn’t feeding her. “I’ll be fine, it just takes me a while to patch myself up.”

Echo sighed. “Fine, fine. But the offer’s open for the morning, alright? Chailyn is super nice, she won’t mind.”

Julian then raised his hand and beckoned Echo closer. “Here, Echo, c’mere. You’re still bleeding.”

“Oh, I- I know.” She blushed nervously and shrugged. “I’ll be fine, Jule. It’s no big deal.”

He tsked and leaned forward to touch his fingertips against her throat, and quickly the wound sealed up, with only the blood already spilled left behind to mark where it had been. In return, a matching cut opened up on Julian’s neck and almost just as quickly disappeared - a minor wound, healing in seconds.

Echo pouted at him, still blushing, and cross her arms grumpily. “Hey, there’s no need for that! Take care of your person, doofus. Verun needs it more than I do.”

Julian leaned his head onto Verun’s with a sigh. His dramatics certainly hadn’t been dampered by the bloody night, despite his still obvious worry. “I would, but alas, Verun doesn’t like me taking such serious wounds from her. And unfortunately I do need to get the two of us home, so I can’t tire myself out too much right now.”

“Has she gotten seriously hurt before?” Echo turned her eyes to Verun, wide and even more concerned than before. “What kind of trouble have you been getting into?”

“I, uh-” Julian frowned nervously. “Well… a vampire hunter came after Verun. He had captured me and used me as bait, and Verun defended me.”

The group paused collectively, and Gen’s face twisted into a frown. Julian glanced up at her with an uncertain look, weighing his words carefully.

“I believe, well, that-”

“Tinya sent him.” Gen sighed, her head drooping slightly as she closed her eyes for just a moment. “Tinya told me about Verun when they found out. And they told me later on that they had run into a hunter that had his sights on the vampire of Vesuvia.”

Verun shrunk under her gaze, her emotions whipping into a storm with all the implications her words carried with them. If Gen knew, then why did she even give Verun the chance? Why would she trust Julian, after finding out?

“Who knew that the vampire of Vesuvia would be the one to save my life in the middle of a robbery?” Gen snorted softly and shook her head, eyes lifting to the ceiling. “Tinya can be a fool sometimes. I’ll have to tell them about tonight, I think it’ll help them change their mind about this whole mess… but uh, what happened to the vampire hunter?”

“He’s being held at the palace,” Julian said, his voice dropping carefully with a glance around to make sure no one heard. “He’s actually an old childhood friend of Verun’s, so… we’re trying to talk him out of trying to kill her.”

“I forget that you have connections with the Countess.” Aiku spoke up with that grin of his, head tilted to the side. “I still really want to meet her, you should introduce me at some point.”

“Ah, well-” Julian flushed and shrugged, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I suppose I could do that, if you wanted.”

"Ey, you."

The voice that called to her now was that of the barkeep. She looked at him, shy and mostly silent now.

"Thanks for that, friend. Lemme know the next time you need something."

She froze and slowly nodded her acceptance, sinking against Julian as time seemed to only barely crawl forwards, on hands and knees. Slowly, people started shuffling out of the tavern. A few stopped by the group to give their thanks to Verun, though many kept their distance. She didn't know how to believe that these people were so willing to excuse her attacks with just this one event.

But eventually, Julian clicked his tongue quietly to get her attention and smiled at her, offering a hand as he whispered to her. “C’mon, let’s go home, alright?”

She slowly nodded and took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet. He said his goodbyes to his group, Verun tiredly waving, and he swept her out of the tavern as quickly as she was able. Outside it was quiet, her thoughts echoing off the buildings around them, darkening and dimming until she was left in a cacophony of silence and footsteps. Julian cast a concerned glance at her every once in a while, until they arrived at his home and he opened the door.

He led the way inside, but Verun stopped just outside the threshold. Julian turned as he registered the way she had stopped, raising an eyebrow.

"Verun? You okay?"

"How?" Her voice felt tight, her throat constricting around her words. "How can… how can people just trust me like that? How can you?"

Julian stepped closer, cradling her face in his palm as he kissed her quivering lips. "Because, everyone saw the way you fought for my friends. You took a lot of damage just to save them… people appreciate that, especially the more hardy patrons of the Raven." He smiled and pulled her close. "I think we can say that at this point you've earned my trust, with how careful you've been with me for all these many weeks.”

Verun shut her eyes and shook her head, though she leaned heavily on him. She was hurting from all the cuts in her side, the many nicks and scratches she got during her fight.

“I suppose.”

“Verun… trust me.”

“I do.”

“Then can you believe me?”

“I… I think so.”

“Then that’s all I can ask for. Now c’mon, let’s head to bed.”

~~~

Again, Verun spent days feeling sluggish, exhausted. She wasn’t entirely herself, finding herself going silent more often than not as she recovered, spacing out as Julian talked to her.

He didn’t mind so much.

One day Aiku stopped by, for just a little bit. He walked in when Julian opened the door, and gave both of them a grin. Just checking in, he said. Making sure that the two of them were recovering alright.

Verun felt like she was being choked with some emotion she couldn’t put her finger on, which strangled her words even after he left. Julian had smiled at her in understanding and brushed a hand over her cheek before laughing and leaving to get some dinner for himself, and for her if she wanted.

When he came back he told her of murmurs he had heard on the street. He’d already been recognized as the one that was apparently head-over-heels for the vampire of Vesuvia, which of course most were wary about, though more than enough were willing to accept that a friend of Julian’s was a friend of theirs. It made Verun feel almost panicked, ready to go home and descend into the caves where she had first sheltered on her return to Vesuvia, hide herself away from the violence that was sure to come. When people feared, they struck out, and Julian was the perfect target for that - he was human, weak, no matter how his mark kept him safe. He wasn’t like Verun at all, not able to take the hits and the abuse she was able to.

But he didn’t seem worried at all. In fact, he seemed to be more excited than anything, finally not having to hide the person he cared so much about. He seemed so sure that the people of Vesuvia would learn to not care about sharing their living areas with a vampire, more than willing to invite her out and around the town when she could.

It was infectious, his vehement belief of the general population.

When she went out at night to feed, she didn’t bother to cover her face, on Julian’s insistence. Sometimes he even came out with her, calming her victims as he patched them up before the two of them brought the unlucky person to the palace to be cared for. It was a wonder that Lucio hadn’t noticed the common and poor people in his place of living yet, though Julian assured her that Nadia had her ways of keeping them away from the gaze of the Count.

Asra was there as well, once the rumors started. He was concerned for the two of them, his own thoughts following Verun’s. Julian had waved them both off and offered tea for the two of them, or coffee, if they’d like.

Verun spent her time sinking into her cup of tea, eyes lost as she listened to the two of them converse, about nothing, about the weather and the price of things in the market.

It was lonely, at least in her mind.

~~~

“What did Analee mean, when he said that he hadn’t forgotten what you had done?” The question found her rather suddenly. She didn’t know what had happened to the ruffian leader after that night, and hadn’t exactly asked about it.

Julian paused where he was laboring over a pot of some kind of soup, eyes narrowed in an innocent sort of irritation that made her heart warm despite the coldness in her fingers. And then his gaze flickered up to her and he gave a quiet sigh that seemed to carry a heavy sort of grief.

“Analee was my captain, at one point.”

Verun nodded as he stirred the soup, undoubtedly trying to keep his hands occupied.

“He had his wife on board once, and she went into labor…” His features twisted, goosebumps appearing on his arms. “I was the only medical person on board, but I was young and inexperienced and… I lost them both. Something went wrong and I couldn’t figure out what in time.”

She watched the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed down the rest of his words. “And he blamed you for that?”

Julian nodded once, closing his eyes for a moment before the soup bubbled and with a pop, a drop of scalding broth hit his hand and he yelped in pain. And the disquiet in the room settled, and Verun stood to wrap her arms around his waist.

“It’s not your fault, Julian. And it’s not your fault because he says it is.”

He gave a low chuckle. “Yeah, I know.”

“Do you though?” She smiled at pressed her face against his back. “Or do you need some extra convincing?”

“Hmm, maybe I could get that extra attention later. After dinner.”

“Mmm. Will I get my own dinner?”

She felt the shiver that ran through him at her words, and she laughed against him with a squeeze of her heart. He had his own shadows in his eyes, but maybe she could lead him through them as he tried to do for her.

~~~

“Julian…”

“Mmmmhm?” He turned over tiredly, looping his arms around her waist as he tucked his face high against her chest, his sigh a glide of breath across her skin. “Wu’sup?”

“We need to find Tinya.”

He woke up a little more at that, rubbing his cheek against her skin. “I know.”

“Can we start looking tomorrow?”

“Alright. I’ll talk to Gen.”

She sighed into his hair. “I don’t know if I want to involve her in this…”

“Ah, but love, she’s Tinya’s sister. She’s already involved.”

“I know, but I just…” She lost her words and huffed in irritation. “I don’t want her to get too close to all of this. Closer than she already is.”

“Alright, if you insist… I’ll still have to ask her where they are though. If anyone knows, she will.”

“... fine, if you have to.”

“It won’t be more than that, I promise.”

“Alright.”

“Now sleep, my dear. We’re going to have an interesting day tomorrow.”

She settled in next to him, pulling his body tight to hers, burying her face against his throat as an unexpectedly vicious wave of fearful possessiveness came over her. One that had her whispering ‘mine’ against his skin so quietly that he didn’t hear, didn’t feel anything more than the brush of her lips.

Thoughts of a dark night washed through her mind like waves on a fathomless sea, sick fear in her throat when she saw the fear in the eyes of another. Sharp metal digging into her palm, blood running from her own cool body, a promise.

_ I think that’s enough to send him to Asheliet. I’m sure the others there would like to send him off. _

No one would touch him. Not like that, not so bloodthirsty. No one would hurt him, not if she had a say in it. She wouldn’t let pain like that come to him.

~~~

Makeup applied, even though it would be virtually useless now, Verun followed Julian out of the house, hood drawn up over her features despite the heat. She was cold enough anyway, with all the blood she had lost so recently. She was still building it back up after her fight.

She flinched away from all the stares, though Julian seemed so immune to them by now. He held onto her hand as he led the way through the crowd, head held high as he brought her closer to Tinya. Closer to a traitorous friend, too scared to know better. The stares of the people around her burned through the thin material of her hood, burning her eyes even as they watered and stared down at the ground, praying that they wouldn’t know of the blood on her hands.

Julian led her through the Flooded District, seeming clear of the whispers and the tendrils of fear brought up by their passing, until he stopped and knocked on the door of a house that seemed to be half falling apart, the roof sagging under its own weight and boards wet and rotting.

Gen opened the door and smiled at Julian, then at Verun, before welcoming them inside. “What you two doing?” Her voice was welcoming, casual as anything.

“Genevieve…” Julian glanced at Verun. “Do you know where Tinya is? We need to talk to them.”

She pursed her lips, glancing at Verun as Julian did. “Yeah, they’re… actually just upstairs.”

“Will you lead the way?” His voice dropped to a quieter volume, pleading quietly. “We don’t want a fight, we just want to talk, and explain things.”

The blue-haired girl nodded slowly. “I know you don’t. I know  _ she _ doesn’t,” she said, giving a significant look to Verun. “I’ll stick around though, just in case Tinya does something stupid.”

Julian gave her a crooked grin. “Ah, Gen. I don’t think that Tinya could do anything stupid enough.”

“Pff. You clearly don’t know Tinya then.” She snorted and turned to lead the way, mindless in the way she skipped the first stair on her way up.

And she stopped at the first door, opening it up and sticking her head in- before drawing back with a grimace. “Ah, come on! Get some goddamn pants on, you gremlin!”

“Gen! Let me live!” Tinya’s voice cried out from inside of the room. “I don’t  _ wanna!” _

“Oh my-” she stepped in, cracking her knuckles. “I’m going to kick your ass, Tinya, get some  _ pants _ on.”

“Nnnnoooo!”

“It’s pants time!”

“N _ o,” _ they wailed.

“Pants party!”

“Nnoooo.”

“Then I’m just going to let my friends walk in on you, seeing you  _ naked, _ like a fucking  _ gremlin-” _

There was a  _ shriek _ from inside and some broken laughter, but eventually Verun heard footsteps, and Tinya’s voice as they approached the door.

“Anyway, what friends do you have over? Are they gonna join our-” Their voice cut off as they came around the corner, long blue-black hair pulled back into a messy bun, those sharp blue eyes widening as they saw the two of them standing awkwardly in the hallway. They took half a step back, to retreat back into their bedroom, before Gen was there to prod them in the back.

“Nuh uh sir, you’re not running from this right now.”

“Gen…”

“We just want to talk, Tinya,” Julian said, eyes and voice pleading. “I- we’re not going to hurt you at all.”

They seemed to pull themself back together, fixing the two of them with a wary look. “Julian, have you really sided with her?”

“There’s no side to chose, Tinya. Verun isn’t a monster like you think, she’s nowhere close.” Julian reached back to take her hand, squeezing gently, reassuringly. Verun’s voice was frozen in her throat, staring at Tinya.

There was a pang of anger behind the dread, something that told her that this was the person that had put Julian in danger. This was the person that had led Riley to her, to Julian, to use as his bait for her. But Tinya wouldn’t know what their actions had brought about, of course. They wouldn’t know the wounds that had been inflicted on her, the scars on her hand and on her chest where she had narrowly avoided death.

“I’m trying,” she whispered, her voice strangled into nothingness.

Julian turned to look at her, an encouraging smile on his face. Tinya didn’t look so convinced.

“I’m trying,” she said again. “To be better-… than others. I’m careful, I don’t- I don’t want to kill. I swear, I don’t, I don’t want to ever again.”

“And she saved my life,” Genevive spoke up behind Tinya.

“She saved the group,” Julian added.

“W-what?” Tinya’s voice was confused even as Verun’s eyes clouded with tears. “What happened?”

“Analee,” Gen answered simply, leaning against the wall. “He showed up with his entire group of lackeys and Verun took them out, no problem.” There was a hint of pride in her voice that Verun wasn’t expecting, wasn’t wanting.

Julian cleared his throat. “It wasn’t as easy as you make it seem, Gen. She did take some serious damage from that fight.”

“Well yeah, especially the sword she jumped in front of me to take. Crazy move, that. Ignatius would be proud.”

Tinya shook their head. “I… she…?”

“She’s  _ not as bad as you think, _ idiot,” Gen scolded. “Now if you would calm your ass down and stop thinking like she’s some irredeemable monster it would be nice if you would actually appreciate her as a person. And Julian’s girlfriend, for fucks sake.”

“Lover,” Julian corrected with a flush. It felt like Verun was watching everything through a glass, the events untouchable and almost humorous. The easy way the three of them let their words fall together, even with the tension between Tinya and Julian. What had she lost to the hands of the vampires that had taken her? Did she miss out on this closeness?

“Ah, so the two of you…?” Tinya narrowed their eyes in a mix of curiosity and confusion.

“No, she’s just-” Julian blinked. “She doesn’t like to be called my girlfriend, is all. Rubs her the wrong way sometimes.”

Tinya hummed. And then they looked guilty, head bowing as they heaved a great sigh. “So you’re really the lover of a vampire, huh?”

“Indeed I am,” Julian said quietly. “I can understand if you don’t want to hang out with the group if she’s going to be coming around more often, but-”

“Hush, alright? Just… give me a moment.” Tinya pursed their lips, raising their head to stare at Verun. “What do you have to say on all of this? Feels kinda unfair to be talking about you while you’re standing right here, huh?”

“I’m sorry,” she blurted. And internally slapped herself, because what was there to be apologizing about? It was Tinya that tipped off Riley, it was Tinya that drove Julian away from the group, it was Tinya that nearly got her and Julian killed. “I’m sorry, that I make you uncomfortable.”

They smiled slightly. “Ah, don’t say it like that. It makes me feel like an asshole.”

“Cause you are, Tinya,” Gen grumbled.

“Hush. What… what ever happened to the vampire hunter that was hanging out around here?”

Verun looked down at her feet. “He’s being held at the palace.”

“Oh. Like, he’s being imprisoned there? Why would the Count be holding him?”

“I don’t know, maybe because he threatened Julian’s life,” she snapped suddenly. The memories of Julian being held at Riley’s feet was still tender, still haunting the scar at her chest that would someday heal. 

_ I think that’s enough to send him to Asheliet. _

“Verun…” Julian reached for her hand, his smile quiet and offering solace. “It’s alright now.”

But tears were burning at her chest again,  _ again, _ threatening to drown her. “No! It’s not, he threatened- h-he was going to- back to Asheliet- t-to  _ them-” _ And she wanted to burn, wanted to call her magic with intent and the passion of hate and bring down everything because it  _ wasn’t _ alright. Nothing was ever alright with that memory swimming like a shark through her head, no matter the weeks that had passed before now.

A whisper in her lungs told her it was because of the vampire blood pumping in fits and spurts through her veins, in the copper taste of blood sitting heavy in her stomach.

And Tinya looked as if they had been run through with a sword, hands clutching at the edge of their shirt with wide eyes. “Julian…?” Their voice was an echo, hollow to her ears.

Julian was silent for a moment. “... yeah. He did. Riley, the hunter.”  _ The one you helped. _

“Fuck,” Tinya whispered hoarsely. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, Julian.”

He shrugged. “Don’t apologize to me, I wasn’t the one who was hurt by it.”

Tinya’s eyes found their way back to her, where angry tears still dripped down her cheeks. And they drew a breath in, feet shuffling awkwardly once again. For a moment Verun thought that they would refuse to apologize for her, still hold back because of her monsterous standing.

But, “I’m sorry,” they murmured. “I didn’t… I’m really sorry. I didn’t think that he would use Julian against you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered in kind.

“I-I heard that you’ve been taking your victims to the palace. Is that true? They get taken care of?” The question came from them in a half-stumbled wave that had Gen and Julian sharing a surprised glance.

But Verun simply nodded. “The Countess has been keeping them hidden in the palace, but she makes sure they recover from my bite.”

“Hidden?” Tinya’s brows pulled together in confusion. “Why?”

Julian snorted. “Because of the Count, Tinya. You know that he’d never skip over the chance to become a vampire, and we don’t need Verun being caught and starved at the palace. That would be…”

“Bad,” she murmured. “Very bad.”

Tinya nodded slowly. “I’ll take your word for it.”

They were all silent for a moment. There came a realization, that Verun would never truly be okay. That she would never be entirely accepted here in Vesuvia, in the streets full of warm sunshine and warm bodies fearing the coldness of a vampire. They would never love the bloody thirst of something like her.

But something about seeing the way the line of Tinya’s shoulders fell imperceptibly as they relaxed made her breath come easier, the way their lips tilted up in a small, crooked smile making her warm just slightly.

She might not be able to rest easy, but she could carve a place out for herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANYWAY I HOPE YALL ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER as always feel free to scream to me at @the-only-universe-here on tumblr, like seriously please. I swear I will never ever get annoyed with comments/screaming about my stuff, it's a dopamine high from hell whenever I get responses on my stuff


	5. Finally, Rest.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The finale in this mess of a fic. Verun puts in a lot of work, gets into a bit more trouble, but eventually... she finally gets her happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay honestly, I never really expected to get ANY sort of support for this fic (honestly Arcana fics that are character x oc seem to get much less support than character x reader, lol) so to get anything was pretty great :D
> 
> This is... also officially the first big fic that I've attempted and actually completed! Final word count in my doc is very nearly 55,000 words! So thank you to everyone who gave feedback and support, you guys are really the driving force behind this, lmao
> 
> And a happy new year to you guys as well! Hopefully this year I'll be able to get done with all my other big writing projects (I've moved onto the Grishaverse, if anybody wants to check those fics out :3)

Finally, Verun was seeing Riley again. And it wasn’t in the dungeons with shackles around his wrists like she had feared.

It was with a servant’s uniform that he seemed to be wearing begrudgingly, his dark hair a stark contrast to the gold and cream color of his clothing. But he was free of weapons as far as she could tell, and he didn’t seem to have the inclination to attack her as he had before.

“You seem well,” she said politely. He seemed angry honestly, more humiliated than anything.

Riley grunted. “The Countess seems insistent that I don’t sit idly.”

“I have a feeling that it’s better than being sat in a cell, though. I’m glad that she didn’t put you in chains.”

“She might as well have.”

His words made her flinch. “She’s only keeping your here because I don’t want you coming to attack me, Riley.”

“I’m sure the city would thank me if I did.”

“Maybe. Some wouldn’t.”

“Are the voices of a few an adequate excuse for a murderer to continue to wander the streets?”

“Are you sure that I’m the murderer in the room?” She snapped back, drawing herself to her full height, though it didn’t do much against his own. 

And he went silent.

Verun sighed, sitting herself down on the couch. She knew that Riley wouldn’t dare attack her. Against her own strength he was helpless without his weapons.

“Who did you leave, Riley?” Her voice was quiet now. And she could tell that her question shook him, the sad shard in his eyes breaking into bits. “What made you leave them?”

“That’s none of your business, Verun.”

She released a breath at the sound of her own name. Never had she thought her own name sounded so reassuring. “What if I could help you? The Countess, I know she has the resources to find them, if they’re still out there-”

“You’ll never find them. They’ll never just come here to the palace, not without good reason.”

“Are we talking about just one person?” Her mouth twisted into a smile. “Riley, if you care so much for them, why wouldn’t they come here for you? How long has it been?”

He released a heavy breath and looked away. “It’s none of your business,  _ monster.” _

“Riley…”

“Why do you care so much, anyway? Are you planning on using them against me? Trap them, turn them all into vampires?” His voice was a sneer, a snarl before he stopped and shook his head, turning away from her to pace the length of the sitting room.

Verun sighed. She felt too stiff here, in the palace with all it’s delicate filigree and fancy layers of clothing. “How many are there?”

“I told you, it’s none of your-”

“Do you really think that I’m just going to torture them, Riley? I’m not that cruel, you  _ know _ me. I could have killed you that night, I could have killed any of my other victims if I had chosen.” She stood up and stepped in front of his path, forcing him to stop before he came too close. “But I don’t. And I haven’t, not since I first became a vampire, because I don’t  _ want _ to. I don’t want to be a bloodthirsty beast. If I could, I would take back the deal that I made with the vampires at Asheliet. I’d rather that I died of the plague like I should have, but I  _ didn’t, _ because I was terrified of dying and I saw only one way out.”

He looked at her with narrowed eyes.

“I didn’t want to become this, Riley,” she whispered. “But I am, and I’m trying to be the best that I can like this.”

“The… plague?”

Right. He hadn’t been in Vesuvia for the red plague. She released a shuddering breath.

“A plague swept through Vesuvia years ago. It only ended three years ago, it was…” Verun gulped down air, suddenly struggling to breathe with the thought of it, her voice forced down to a whisper. “It was horrible. I was… I was…”

But her memories shorted out for a moment, hazy and slippery with time and whatever magic the vampires had used on her. “I think I was working in a clinic. The vampires in Asheliet scrambled my head up, I can’t remember exactly…”

“And you were infected?”

She nodded.

“And you chose to be turned…?” His voice was quieter now.

Another nod.

Silence dragged on, until Verun’s voice was about to be dragged back up, out of her throat.

“There are three,” he whispered.

It had her rocking on her heels, a hand reaching out to him with parted lips, ready for comfort, ready for a response that remained a mystery to her as the door opened and Portia poked her head in.

“Sorry, Verun. The Count returned from his ride early, the Countess is advising that you go before he comes into the palace proper.”

For a moment she was frozen, before Verun gave a nod and returned her hand to her side. “Thank you, Portia.”

The girl gave her a quick, bright smile and nodded before shutting the door once more.

“Thank you, Riley,” she murmured after a moment, her eyes still stuck on the door. His small admission was worth something, no matter how inconsequential it could seem in the moment.

She sensed more than saw his nod, and it filled her with a gentle sort of warmth. There were some things with Riley that hadn’t quite changed, no matter how hard his shell seemed to be.

~~~

“So I guess they know now.”

Verun grimaced and sipped her tea. “Yeah. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet, honestly. Julian seems to be completely fine with walking around with everyone staring after him, but I’m…”

“Not so sure?” Asra smiled at her over the rim of his own cup of tea. “Yeah. I’m glad that nothing violent has broken out, it’s the least I would have expected from this population.”

“The least? I’m scared to know what you think these people would do.”

“Well, based on the fact that the Coliseum used to be such a source of entertainment…” His voice was sad, his eyes echoing the thought tenfold.

Verun pursed her lips. “Fair point. I think that I was fortunate to have my reveal in the company that I did, though.”

“How did that all go down, by the way? Julian told me that there was a robbery at that tavern, but…”

“Well…” She grimaced. “People came in, they threatened the barkeep, they threatened Julian and the group we were with, and… I was forced to defend myself and the others. It was the only thing that I could do.” She couldn’t go into detail with it. It was still too painful, just three weeks after with all her new scars pulsing in time with her heartbeat in the heat of Vesuvia. She still didn’t know what had happened to Analee.

Asra seemed to understand, giving her a pitying look. “I’m sorry that you had to go through that, Verun. I’m glad that you made it out in one piece, and you… seem to have made some new friends. Which is better than I could have hoped for, in all honesty.” He gave her a teasing smile and she flushed, lightly glaring at him in turn.

“So rude to be insulting your host in their own home, Asra,” she bit playfully. It felt nice to call this place her home, even in jest.

“Ah, I’m terribly sorry, Verun.” But he smiled widely.

All of this felt so domestic, simply having tea in the middle of the day with an old friend that she was relearning while Julian was out doing housecalls for his patients. She worried that maybe something would happen to him since he was now publicly tied to her, as her lover - but he assured her that even if something did, he was plenty capable of taking care of himself.

He told her so each time she worried him about it, giving her a delicate kiss on the nose with his signature smirk.

Lost in thought, she was rather startled when Asra dropped onto the couch beside her, having set down his cup on the small table behind his chair. And he put his arms around her with a deep sigh, resting his head on her shoulders.

“I feel like I haven’t been able to appreciate the fact that you’re actually back,” he murmured. “And I’m really, really glad that you are, Verun.”

It shocked her into silence for several moments, before she released a breath of a laugh and sipped at her tea, willingly leaning into his embrace. She enjoyed the feeling of warm arms around her, allowing her to relax for the moment as she closed her eyes.

“What was I like before?” Her voice was small, unsure. 

Asra hummed. “You haven’t actually changed that much, outside of maybe actually having a reason to avoid sunlight,” he murmured with a quiet laugh. “You’ve always been very introverted, me and your aunt used to have to drag you out of bed and your books every once in a while.”

Ranger slid in through the door and glanced at the two of them, little flecks of mud stuck to his fur as he narrowed his eyes.

_ They used to have to drag you out of bed every day when you found a new author to follow, _ his voice murmured to her.  _ Gremlin child. _

Verun snorted quietly at him before Faust dropped off of the table and curled around the dingo, despite his annoyed growling as she did. Still, he carried her weight and trotted off to the next room. Hopefully they wouldn’t get into too much trouble together.

“Will you tell me some stories?” She asked, staring at the door that their familiars had disappeared through. “There must be some good ones if you stayed with me and my aunt for so long.”

He chuckled and pressed his smile to her shoulder. “There definitely are a few. Especially once Julian started coming around, we were a trio that the area around here both loved and hated.”

Verun grinned. “I can imagine.”

“We once pulled a heist on the old baker, before Selasi started up his place.”

“What?!”

“Yup. Ranger and Faust were in on it as well, though Faust less so.”

“What did we even do with all that bread?” She laughed and leaned against him, glad that she could have this comfort with him.

“Well, we  _ were _ going to give it out to the urchins on the docks, but then aunt Julie caught us and made us return it.” He sighed and rolled his eyes lightly. “And then the old baker threw all the bread away anyway, and banned any of us from even stepping foot in his shop unless aunt Julie was with us. He kept yelling about the three of us acting more like children than his five year old, and only Julian had the will to look embarrassed.”

“Of course,” she laughed quietly. “It seems like he was the best out of us, then?”

“Sometimes.” Asra sighed and closed his eyes, laying his head back on the top of the couch. “That was something that we always seemed to take turns on. We’d keep each other centered.”

Verun smiled, closing her eyes. “It seems like that’s been continuing on even after I disappeared.”

Asra was silent for several moments, lost in thought. “... yeah, I suppose.”

~~~

“So, was the story that you guys fed us that first time actually true?” Aiku sat forward, sandwiched between the siblings, now that Tinya had deigned it alright to join the group again. “Did you guys really just meet randomly?”

“Well, I uh…” Verun blushed hard, with as much blood as her body could make rush to her cheeks as she remembered the first occurence that she actually spent time with Julian. The forgein rush of bloodlust that had washed over her. The way that she had gotten him pinned up against the wall, the floor beneath her.

Aiku’s smirk turned wicked and he settled his head into his hand as he stared at her. “Ohhh, I definitely want to know this story.”

“Noo…” She whined and hid her face in her hands, cursing her body for betraying her in such a way.

“Do you want me to tell them, Verun?” Julian leaned against her shoulder as Echo giggled on his other side. “Though I don’t exactly have the whole story…”

Gen snickered. “What does that mean?”

“I broke into his  _ house,” _ Verun whined in admission. “Like  _ four times. _ Because I was kinda stalking him.”

_ “What?!” _ Echo was the one that spoke up this time, her hands coming down onto the table with a heavy smack. “Why? I want to knooowww!”

Julian laughed and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her hands away from her face to kiss her with a wide grin. “That’s a question that not even I have gotten a straight answer to,” he teased.

Verun groaned and pressed her face against his shoulder. “You’re awful, Ilya,” she whined in return.

“I know, but you love me~”

“I knooowww.”

Tinya let out a small laugh. “Well jeez, it’s a good thing you really don’t mean any harm. If Julian fell any harder for you I don’t think he’d be here.”

Verun grinned, flashing sharp teeth that had a nearly imperceptible shiver running through them. “Well, we wouldn’t be  _ here _ exactly…”

Next to her she felt Julian give a small shudder, could almost feel the heat from his own blush as it rose up to his face. He cleared his throat. “Refills, anyone?” He asked nervously.

“Ah, Julian, always thirsty for his next drink,” Aiku poked fun at him with a sinful smirk, winking at Verun. She felt a grin spreading over her own features.

Julian shook his head and nudged Verun out of the bench so he could slide out himself. “Anyway, I’ll assume that all of you want something to drink? Verun?”

“Whatever you think I’ll like is fine,” she answered, sitting down and smiling up at him. And as he walked away, she felt Echo press up against her side.

“So really, why did you start stalking him? There has to be a reason that you chose him, right?”

Verun took a moment to gather her thoughts, fingers tracing the grain of the wood that the table was made from. “Honestly, I don’t know. Something just drew me to him, and if anything it was just because I could pick up on his scent so easily on the streets…” She glanced up, nervous that her sensitive nose would weird the others out.

“Wait, so you could  _ smell _ him?” Genevieve frowned slightly. “That’s kinda weird?”

“Vampires have a very sensitive sense of smell,” Verun explained, running her hand through the hair at the back of her head. It was getting long, enough to grab in her fist easily. “I wasn’t able to learn about much with the vampires in Asheliet, but I know that I can differentiate people once I actually spend enough time around them.”

“Huh. And you were able to do that with Julian, just off the bat?” Echo tilted her head. “But that would mean that you guys spent time together before, right?”

She blushed once more and nodded. “Yeah. It’s just that… neither of us remember. Me and Ranger have the theory that the vampires that turned me wiped the memories that I had about any people important to me that might have survived the plague, but. It’s just a theory, there’s no way to prove it unless I go back to Asheliet, and that would be a death wish for me.”

“What about Julian, though?” Tinya frowned slightly, narrowing their eyes. “He should remember if the two of you were close in the past, he has quite the talent for remembering faces and names.”

“That’s the problem… the only one that can remember the two of us ever spending time together is Asra.”

“Wait, Asra? The magician in the marketplace?” Aiku tilted his head, inspecting her with narrowed eyes.

_ “Yes, _ that Asra, doofus,” Echo cut in. “What other Asra would it be? Him and Julian have always been weird though, I don’t know why he would be the one to remember…”

“What do you mean, him and Asra have always been weird?” Verun looked between the rest of the group, raising an eyebrow.

“I dunno, the two of them have always just kinda been antsy around each other.” Echo shrugged.

Gen snorted. “I’m pretty sure they were fuckbuddies for a while around the end of the plague. But then things didn’t work out and they just started avoiding each other.”

“How do  _ you _ know?” Echo narrowed her eyes at the other girl. “They could have-”

“Who are we talking about?” Julian came through the parting crowd with a smile, a tray of drinks balanced expertly in one hand. “Drinks have arrived, you trouble makers.” He handed each of them out by name, setting them in front of their respective person, before setting a drink of lemonade in front of Verun with a wink that failed on part of his eyepatch. “Now scootch, love.”

Verun smiled and made room for him to sit, letting the others take over the conversation for now.

“We were talking about  _ you, _ you beanpole man,” Tinya said with a smile. “We were debating why your memories of Verun have apparently been wiped as well.”

Julian blushed. “Oh, she told you about that?”

“Yup.” Aiku shrugged. “You never know, maybe the vampires that got Verun also messed with you.”

“I don’t know why they would do that though,” Verun muttered. “They don’t bother with people unless they really need to, or if they’re feeding. And if they feed, then you don’t get up again.”

Echo then set her drink aside and nearly laid across the table, fixing her eyes on Julian with a critical stare. “Aiku, can I see your knife?”

He raised an eyebrow even as he pulled it out. “Why?”

She took it and then reached across Verun to take Julian’s hand, hovering the tip of the blade over the pad of his finger. “May I?”

The doctor frowned slightly but nodded, and Echo only pressed enough to draw a drop of blood, making his mark flare for a moment as she held it there, inspecting it.

And then she sat back, and on instinct Verun brought Julian’s hand up to her mouth, sucking the blood from his finger. She met Aiku’s eyes from across the table and abruptly a blush bloomed across her face before she dropped Julian’s hand as the five others went quiet for various reasons.

She cleared her throat. “I. Shut up, no reason to waste.”

Julian let out a peal of nervous laughter, a blush riding high on his own face as Aiku gave her a charming, crooked grin. “Uh huh, honey. But Echo, can I have my knife back? What was your little experiment for?”

“I have…  _ research _ to do,” she said with a grin, wiggling in her seat as her parrot (which was also named Echo, or Echo Jr.) crunched on a cashew on the table. “Now that I’m actually paying attention, I think that I’ve actually seen that mark that you have, Julian. I think that Asra might have a book that has something about it, I’ll have to talk to him about it. It could be a hint as to why your memories are gone. And maybe I can see about restoring Verun’s memories as well!”

“Wait, so you’re a magician as well?” Verun glanced over her, eyebrows pulling together.

“Of course.” Echo grinned, gesturing to her parrot. “Echo Jr. is my familiar.”

“Oh.”

Tinya laughed just as Julian did, the two of them sharing a glance. Verun saw their feet nudge at each other’s under the table and smiled a bit, running a hand through her hair.

“Unexpected thing, our little bean Echo,” Aiku said with a smirk.

“Of course. But even more unexpected than a vampire?” Gen smiled good-naturedly at Verun, who smiled back at her.

“Shut up.”

~~~

“Ah, among royalty. Just where I should be,” Aiku said with a grin, putting an arm around Verun’s shoulders. Beside her Julian snorted, nudging the other man with an elbow.

“Now Aiku, don’t let your ego get too inflated.”

“I’m sure that Verun here could sufficiently drain me of my ego if it really needed deflating, Jules,” he responded with a lazy smirk.

And in return, Verun shoved him away with a huff and a roll of her eyes. The palace felt less threatening when she had Julian with her, and Aiku had only accompanied because of Julian’s previous promise to give him an opening to meet the Countess. She had come for another visit with Riley, which she hoped would be both longer and more relaxed than her last one. Afterwards the three of them would be meeting with the Countess to go over the terms of Verun’s ongoing agreement with her.

They all came into the sitting room that Verun had met Riley in the last time, though this time it seemed that he had been occupied with his new duties as a temporary servant at the palace. So they settled in to wait, easy conversation flowing between the three of them.

“So if you  _ do _ manage to seduce the Countess, which I heavily doubt you will ever manage, what will you do?” Julian smiled and leaned back, stretching his arm over the back of the couch, behind Verun and loosely enveloping her in his familiar scent.

“The question is, what  _ won’t _ I do?” Aiku smirked and shrugged. “I have many dreams to accomplish, Julian, I don’t think that you even know the half of them.”

“I’m sure Tinya could tell us though,” he answered with his own smirk. Verun raised an eyebrow as Aiku sat forward, his smile only deepening.

He laced his fingers together and rested his head atop them. “Oh, not even Tinya knows the darkest depths of my needs. No matter how much they once wanted to know.”

Julian was about to respond when there was a thud against the door, followed by a breathless laugh and a fumbling at the door handle that had the two of them and Aiku sharing a glance. Then the door burst open, and a couple stumbled in, their lips and hands only occupied by each other.

Verun was able to take in only a few details - the thin, fine silk fabric of the woman’s blue dress falling around her form, the gentle blonde curls falling around her shoulders almost flawlessly. The man’s white suit, golden hair brushed back into a charming, court-ready hairstyle. And his golden arm, crushing the woman’s form to his as he claimed her lips almost viciously.

Her blood froze in her veins as Aiku cleared his throat, and the two of them pulled apart rather abruptly.

The woman spun on her heel to face them, blinking. She was very possibly the most beautiful person Verun had ever seen, shockingly gorgeous blue eyes taking stock of them that seemed almost familiar. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear before giving them a breathless grin.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Hello, Ilya,” she said. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, I wasn’t expecting for you to be here.”

Aiku’s eyes went wide for a moment as he stared up at her. “I… Tasuna?”

“What?” She blinked at him, tilting her head in curiosity. “I don’t think that I know you, you must have the wrong person.”

Verun’s gaze slid to the Count behind her, his expression stuck into an annoyed pout. There was a painfully obvious erection straining at the front of his pants which seemed to be rather distracting for him, though he made no move to hide it. And as her eyes flicked away awkwardly, she felt his gaze turn to bore into her skull, tracing down her throat where her tattoos were hidden with makeup once more.

“So you’re the vampire,” he stated, and the room fell dreadfully silent. She wanted to sob. He knew. She didn’t know how he knew, but the Count would get whatever he desired, one way or another.

Julian’s arm came to rest around her shoulders, pulling her tight against his side, a place of comfort that she could lean into. “What do you want with her, Lucio?” His voice was low - not dangerous, Julian would never dip there unless it was absolutely needed - but there was an edge of cautious anger there.

“Nothing,” the woman said in his stead, shooting the Count a look. “Nothing, Ilya. But it’s good to meet you… Verun, right?”

She released a breath but nodded dejectedly. Obviously it was too late to hide anything. “Who are you?”

“I’m Akaira,” she said smoothly, with an easy smile that did actually help her relax a touch. “And if you haven’t caught on, this is Count Lucio.”

She nudged his hip with hers and he grunted quietly, hooking an arm around her waist once again. “I’ve been rather interested in you, Verun, though Noddy seems it appropriate to keep you hidden from me.”

Akaira laughed softly. “Because you’re a greedy man, Lucio.”

He again pouted, his grip tightening around her until she pecked his cheek. “But-”

“Nope.” She turned and pushed him towards the door. “Leave us for now, go up to your rooms. I’ll join you in not too long, but we have business to discuss.”

“Akaira…” He gripped her wrist with a quiet growl of her name, until she twisted out of his grip and bodily shoved him out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Julian seemed to watch in a sort of awe until she turned around, at which point his eyes fluttered up to hers with a slight blush. Verun rolled her eyes with a smirk, pinching his leg so that he buried his face in her hair.

“I’ve never seen anyone deal with the Count like  _ that,” _ he mumbled, making Akaira laugh as she settled next to Aiku.

“It’s only because it’s me, and he knows that if he comes back in I’ll beat his ass later.” She folded her hands in her lap, every inch a proper lady of the court despite her words. “Now, what are you doing here, Julian? And why with your vampire lover?”

Verun glanced at Aiku, who had fallen oddly silent as his eyes seemed to be picking apart Akaira. Not in the way that she had seen him gaze after other exceedingly beautiful women with a look of flirtatious lust - this was entirely analytical, almost confused.

“I’m here to visit a friend of mine, the Countess has employed him as a servant for now until… he figures out what to do with himself.”

Akaira hummed, her lips pursing together in thought. “Ah, what new servants have we gotten recently… a he, right? I think the most recent that we got was an Aleks, but somehow I don’t think that sunshine child is the person you’re here for.”

Verun frowned. She didn’t like how easily this woman was picking apart her life. “Who are you? How do you know Julian? How did you find out about me?”

“Me and Ilya have been friends for a while.” She smirked at him specifically though, a slick look that put Verun off. “It’s been a little bit since we’ve talked though. I’ve already told you my name, and it’s not like you’ve been discreet, especially recently.”

All legitimate answers, despite the fact that Akaira seemed to be determined to give her as little information as possible.

“If you’re worried, I’ll make sure that Lucio doesn’t come after you. I can’t promise much for the majority of the population here, but it seems like Nadia has staked her own claim for you that might matter more to them than anything Lucio would put up.” She smiled and sat back into the cushions. “I’m not going to let the tyrant of Vesuvia get any more power hungry, unfortunately.”

Suddenly Aiku let out a laugh, leaning towards Akaira. “Milady, could you let me see something?”

Her attention switched to him and she raised an eyebrow with a passive smile. “See what? I don’t think that I’ve gotten your name yet.”

“My name is Aiku,” he said softly. “I just need to see the back of your neck, please.”

She hummed but shrugged, turning her back on him and pulling her hair to the side. His fingers came up and brushed over an lumpy-shaped birthmark on the base of her neck. And the two of them both released a shaky breath.

“Called it,” he whispered quietly. “It’s you.”

Akaira turned back towards him with a frown. “I’m sorry?”

Beside her, Julian leaned against Verun and frowned as they both frowned at the scene. Aiku took one of her hands in both of his own. Something told her that Aiku usually wasn’t one for such movements in a romantic sense, so… what was happening?

“Tasuna Light…”

At that Julian sucked in a breath, and Verun looked up at him, seeing his wide eyes as his gaze flickered back and forth between them. “Oh, shit.”

Akaira glanced at him, confused. “Ilya, do you know anything about this?”

“You’re my sister,” Aiku murmured softly. “I haven’t even seen you in… fuck,  _ ages. _ What happened to you?”

She shook her head. “Aiku, I do believe that you have the wrong person.”

“I don’t think that a matching birthmark would be in the exact place it was on my sister, Tasuna.”

“My name is Akaira.”

Aiku glanced over at the two of them, his lips turned down slightly. “Is there somewhere else we could talk, Akaira?”

She paused for a moment before nodding stiffly, standing and giving Verun and Julian a small smile. “I’ll talk to the two of you later.”

Julian absently waved a hand before the apparent siblings walked out. And they were silent for several moments before Julian gave a snort. “Well then. That was… entirely unexpected.”

“Never a dull moment around Aiku, it seems,” she said with a sigh. “What are we going to do about the Count, though?”

“I’m not sure. I guess nothing, if Akaira thinks that she can deal with Lucio.” Julian sighed and leaned his head against hers. “Now, where’s Riley?”

“I don’t know… maybe we got the room wrong?” She glanced at him and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of his lips. “I… I hope that I can help him. Maybe if I can get him to open up to me, I can help him reunite with whoever he left behind. They’d probably be able to help me with convincing him not to kill me than I will be myself,” she grumbled.

“You’re not wrong,” Riley’s quiet voice spoke up beside the door, making her jerk in surprise.

Verun pressed a hand to her chest and bent over slightly with a wheeze. “Gods, don’t scare me like that, Riley.”

“You’ve always scared easily.”

“Until I don’t,” she grouched back, pouting at him.

Something almost like a smile found his face for just a moment as he stepped in properly and sat down on the couch that Akaira and Aiku had just barely occupied. He inspected Julian for several moments before his eyes against slid to Verun, apparently deciding to ignore the other man.

“So you really want to find them?”

Verun nodded quickly. “Of course I do, Riley. If they really matter to you that much, I want to help.”

He took a breath and tried to settle into the couch as stiffly as possible it seemed, which wasn’t doing very well for him. “You don’t even know them.”

“But they’re important to you, so they can’t be that bad.”

Again, an almost-smile graced his face. “Mostly.”

“Mostly?”

Riley closed his eyes. “Maru is… a hardass. She doesn’t let most people get too close. The team was… an exception.”

Verun smiled and leaned against Julian. “Who were the other two?”

“... Kasten, and Lilac. Maru and Lilac were both from Horamorad.”

“Oh, Horamorad?” Julian perked up a little. “It’s been a while since I’ve been there, but I remember it well enough. Quite the tropical place, it’s nice if you can avoid all the violence on the streets. I think Genevieve is from there as well.”

Riley nodded solemnly. “They took me and Kasten there a couple times to visit family.”

“What family do they have there?” Verun nodded as encouragement. It was nice to see him opening up a bit more.

“Well… neither of them have any actual family in the city. Lilac’s uncle lives outside the walls and Maru ran from her parents years ago. But Lilac has an adopted uncle Ignatius in the city, and Maru has a close friend or two there that she stayed with for a while before falling in with the team.”

“Ignatius… that name sounds familiar…” Julian leaned his head back. “It’ll come back to me eventually. Maybe Genevieve and Tinya could help us out with this search? If your people ever went back to Horamorad, the two of them could probably reconnect with contacts back in the city and keep an eye out for them that way.”

Riley hummed and Verun watched him closely. It was the most she had heard from him for quite a while. The bruises that had been left on his face after their fight had faded weeks and weeks ago, but she could still trace the edges of them from memory, where they had been. The scar across her palm, in the center of her chest throbbed a couple times in memory. She desperately hoped that they would be able to move past this, someday, that Riley would be able to find these people that he cared so desperately about and forgive her for what she became in the years that they spent apart.

“I’ll talk to them about it,” Julian was saying.

She hoped that they would be able to find them.

~~~

“I can’t believe that my  _ sister _ is a lover to Count Lucio.” Aiku laughed and threw up his hands, fingers dancing through the sunlight as if he could catch it with a grin. “The con business must really run in the family, even if she was raised up somewhere else. That’s just great, I would have never expected.”

“I knew something looked familiar in her,” Verun murmured. Once again she was sandwiched between him and Julian as they walked down the streets of Vesuvia, the two of them a little bit of a buffer from the crowd and all the stares she found landing on herself.

Julian smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. “But hey, now we have a plan to get Riley’s friends back to him. I can’t believe that it was so easy though… and I think Gen and Tinya will be happy to return home.”

“That Riley guy’s got friends back in Horamorad?” Aiku turned towards them, raising an eyebrow. “Interesting, with his entire complexion he would have been roasting in a place like that.”

“Not like Vesuvia is much better,” Julian responded easily. “Horamorad is just more humid, if anything. Plays hell with my hair.”

“It plays hell with everyone’s hair, you’re just picky.”

Verun smiled and leaned into his side, closing her eyes for a moment. It was going to be alright.

~~~

“Wait, wait, wait.” Genevieve blinked and sat down on the table in her and Tinya’s home. “You mean to tell me that  _ Riley, _ the vampire hunter that nearly killed you, is sweet baby  _ Lilac’s Riley?” _

Verun shrugged. “That’s what it sounds like.”

“Oh my god. I need to see him, like. Now. I can’t believe…  _ ugh, _ Tinya was never there to meet her little team, of course they wouldn’t recognize him. Shit. I can’t believe…”

Julian gave a sheepish grin. “Yeah, so that’s about we’ve got right now.”

“I mean, I’m totally down to go back to Horamorad. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my little team myself, but… damn. What kind of luck is that? I’m gonna smack Tinya upside the head next time I see them, I can’t believe the mess they’ve gotten us in.”

And at that moment the door was forced open and Tinya glanced at all three of them. “Oh, hey guys. I heard that… the Count knows.”

Verun took a deep breath. “Yeah. It seems that he has someone on the streets to keep him informed.”

Unexpectedly, Tinya stepped forward and gently drew her into a hug, setting their head on top of hers very much like what Julian often did for her. “... I’m sorry, Verun.”

“I think you’ve apologized enough at this point,” she murmured against their shoulder. “I just don’t really know what we’re going to do if the Count sends people after me.”

They squeezed her a bit tighter, and she suddenly remembered to actually put her arms around them in return. “Yeah. But if he does, you got this group to fall back on. Together we make an absolutely legendary smuggling group, if it comes down to it. Except for Echo, the poor bean is too innocent for anything large scale.”

Verun laughed but closed her eyes, allowing herself to lean against Tinya. “Yeah, I can see that. She doesn’t seem to have the stomach for that kind of stuff.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. If she’s caught in a corner and you give her a quarterstaff she can do some serious damage. But usually she avoids that kind of stuff.”

Gen cleared her throat and the two of them pulled away from each other with a quiet smile shared between them. Verun’s heart felt unbearably warm, hyper-aware of Tinya’s eyes on her as they both turned towards their sister.

“So  _ Tinya. _ Guess who the  _ vampire hunter _ knows.” She glared at them as she drummed her fingers on the table beside her.

“Uh…”

“Sir vampire hunter  _ Riley _ is our sweet innocent child Lilac’s teammate.”

And the color drained from Tinya’s face. “Oh. Oh, that’s bad.”

Gen threw a spoon at them, which hit the center of their chest as Tinya seemed to be fighting a small breakdown of some sort.

“So, what’s so important about this Lilac anyway?” Julian crossed his arms over his chest with a thoughtful, if confused look. “Like I get that she was a sweet and innocent child, but…?”

“Lilac is pretty much the daughter of the mafia.”

“M… mafia?” Julian blinked.

“Ah, yeah, you never spent much time there. Gang wars there are always vicious, but the Mafia is a chill organization that takes care of the city as well as it can. Mafia good, Blackhearts bad. Lilac was basically a Blackheart orphan that was left with the Mafia so we could keep her safe, and Ignatius especially connected with her. But after Sunil’s daughter died, he basically brought up Lilac as his own. So yeah, she’s… important.”

“Who’s Sunil?” Verun felt a little lost with such a quick explanation. “And who’s the Blackhearts?”

“Just think of the Blackhearts as the villains. Like, if you gathered all of the scum of the earth into one place, it would result in a group very much like the Blackhearts. And Sunil is the big man of the Mafia. Top boss.” Genevieve kicked her feet a little and sighed. “And if Riley had been killed and either of us were involved in it, we’d get a lot of shit for it. I don’t think that I’d ever be able to face Lilac again.”

“Pfff. I don’t think that Sunil would ever let us see her again.” Tinya frowned. “So… what are we gonna do about  _ that _ information? Why is anyone from her team over here, anyway?”

“It sounds like they were separated somehow. Maybe Riley left his team, for whatever reason.” Gen shrugged.

“Something like that. I haven’t been able to get the story out of him,” Verun said quietly. “I think that something serious happened, I don’t think he would have left them otherwise.”

Gen nodded quickly. “Oh yeah, definitely. The four of them were all so close, so in love with each other… I don’t know what would make them split.”

“Oh, so they were all…?” Verun blinked. “That makes more sense.”

Tinya snorted quietly. “I heard enough from the rest of… I dunno, the  _ entirety _ of the Mafia to know how cute they all were together. The only time that Maru really went soft was when Lilac was with her.”

“Tinya, you don’t even know.” Gen sighed and put a hand to her chest, a dreamy look on her face. “All I want is for a girl to look at me the way Maru looked at Lilac. That’s the dream.”

“From what Riley told us, Maru is kind of a bitch most of the time.” Julian smiled quietly. “Sounds like someone I know.”

“I have no idea who you’re talking about, Ilyushka,” Gen said peacefully, laying back on the table as her feet swung back and forth off the edge. “But Tinya, my precious sibling, that means that we get to return home and try to find out where the hell the rest of Riley’s team of lovers has gone.”

Tinya gave a small smile, though Verun didn’t miss the glance they shared with Julian. “Oh boy. It’s been a while since we went back, hasn’t it?”

“Indeedy-do. We should probably start looking for a ship heading for Horamorad as soon as possible, if we want to get these lovers reunited. In the meantime, I wanna go and meet Riley whenever Verun goes back to visit, and maybe in that time we’ll figure out what to do about the Count.”

“Oh, also, apparently Aiku’s long-lost sister is the Count’s lover,” Julian blurted with wide eyes. The room went quiet for half a second before both Tinya and Gen started talking at the same time.

_ “Lady Akaira?” _

“You’ve got to be shitting me-”

Tinya glanced at their sister, running a hand through their long blue-black hair, creating a darkly shimmering wave to cascade over their shoulder as Verun watched. It was like liquid ink, nearly mesmerizing with how impossibly shiny it was.

“Really? Aiku wasn’t joking when he said that?” Tinya shook their head, eyes closed for a moment. “I ran into him on my way here and he told me about the Count and stuff, I thought he was just pulling my leg.”

Verun laughed quietly and shrugged. “We were just as surprised when he announced it to the woman herself. She was looking at him like he was insane.”

“He kind of is,” they muttered, rolling their eyes. “Only Aiku could possibly have a long-lost sister that high up, the bastard.”

“What’s the story behind that, anyway?” Gen sat up with a groan, her eyes narrowed at Julian. “I don’t think that any of us has ever heard a single thing from his childhood. What the hell happened to him that he completely lost track of his  _ sister?” _

Julian shrugged with a sheepish look. “I heard one thing from when he was younger, but he was drunk off his ass and I couldn’t understand a single thing he was trying to tell me.”

“Uggghhh. All these years and Aiku is still such a damned stubborn mystery.”

~~~

The first day in three years that Verun stepped out into the sunshine without something covering her throat came when she was alone.

Julian was out taking care of home calls for patients, and Asra was taking care of his shop  _ (his _ shop, not theirs, no matter how he offers to share with Verun). Echo was busy with her research, Aiku was likely up at the palace getting to know his sister, and Gen and Tinya were still securing a ship to get them to Horamorad.

She heard a scramble outside the back door of the home that her and Julian share, the home that she rarely trades for the cave out in the forest these days, and then a short scream that is quickly cut off.

And though she was scared, worried of what she might find, she was more worried about the poor soul that had their scream cut off so effectively. And she knew that she had the strength to help them.

So she opened the back door, hand clenched hard enough around the metal handle with nervousness and worry that it nearly bent.

And she was greeted by the sight of a massively tall woman standing with her hand around the throat of a much shorter man, his eyes bulging in his skull as he scrambled at her arm, trying to pull the limb of corded muscle away. In the woman’s other hand, nearly covered by the mottled cloak she wears, a heavy blade was held.

The woman’s eyes were blazing with a fierce anger, an intent to hurt, something that made even Verun shudder. But her grip loosened as she heard the door open, and Verun made eye contact with the woman, saw mis-matched eyes flicker over her throat where the tattoos stand stark against once warm colored skin. And she released the man with a slow exhale, the blaze in her eyes simmering down to cold intellect.

Until the man lunged, taking the blade from her hand in the span of a heartbeat, and Verun was already moving faster than him.

The blade slid into her belly and she screamed, in pain and in rage, in grief. Violence only ever seemed to follow her, even when she tried to live her life as peacefully as a creature like herself could. But better her than the woman behind her, a woman who was never going to kill, Verun could tell now. Not when the woman held Verun’s body up with her own, dealing a devastating blow to the man that knocks him cold to the floor.

Not in the way that she laid Verun down as she screamed and wept in pain, fingers clutching at the blade. And she felt like she was dying, bursting apart at the seams and crumpling in on herself at the same time.

But the woman was calm, fingers brushing away the tears as she stared down at the tattoos and sighed. “You are a vampire.”

Verun could only cry in pain.

“Akaira told me about you. You’ve been cautious, never killing.” Her fingers brushed Verun’s hair aside, still too long for her liking.

“Will you survive?” The woman’s voice was a murmur, kneeling with Verun’s head in her lap. “Can a vampire live through this?”

Then her eyes closed. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll find out.”

And then long fingers were over Verun’s eyes, blocking her sight of the sunlight above her, and the world went black.

~~~

When she awoke, it was night, with Julian’s head resting on her thigh. She was pretty sure she’d been laid out on the table in their kitchen, and he was resting lightly.

And the woman from before was standing against the wall, nursing a cup of coffee with her eyes half closed. But the moment Verun stirred, she set down her mug with a soft clink of ceramic on the hard wood, and Julian’s head came up. There were dark circles under his eyes, and Verun was almost positive that there were bloodstains on his jacket once more.

“Verun,” he breathed, his hand finding her own. “Oh, thank-” His voice was smothered as he pressed kisses to her fingers.

“Verun…” The woman murmured her name slowly, as if tasting it on her tongue. “I’m sorry.”

She tongue worked inside of her mouth, slow to move. “Sorry for what?” Her voice was a croak, not sure how she liked using it again yet.

“You didn’t have to take that wound for me,” she said quietly.

“Better me than you,” Verun whispered.

And quietly, Julian let out a small huff of a laugh. “Verun, that’s not…”

“Love, I can heal from anything but decapitation and something puncturing my heart.” She laid her head down again, too tired to do anything else. “I’d rather it be me than someone else. I don’t care.”

He pressed her hand to his cheek, leaning his hand into her palm. “I just want you to take care of yourself, my dear.”

“I will, I promise.”

“I’m keeping you to that.”

~~~

The day that Verun first stepped outside without anything covering her throat and finds sunshine and the blade of a woman she will never truly know, is the day that things began to change.

~~~

It took a while for Verun to walk again, the pain in her core too much, but she was kept company. Most often by Julian and Asra of course, both of whom would climb into bed with her, pulling her against their chests and read with a book propped up on her shoulder.

But surprisingly, from the group, Tinya came by most often. They came with a book, a game of chess that Verun played with a touch of magic that Tinya was rather interested in learning.

“Why?” She had asked once. “Why come to take care of me?”

“Call it guilt,” they had murmured. “I treated you so poorly when we first met, I’d like to make it up to you, at least a little before me and Gen leave.”

She had fallen asleep that night with their hand in her hair, head propped up on their thigh as Tinya hummed a quiet, off-tune song and stared out the window. When she awoke it was to find Julian sitting on the ground beside their bed, head resting against the mattress with a book in hand and a light snore in his throat, and she wondered at the unbearable warmth in her chest.

~~~

“Hey, Verun.” Tinya ducked in through the door with a grin. “You feeling better today?”

“Yeah, I am.” She smiled back at them. “Just a bit sore as always, but I’m at least able to sit up on my own now.”

“Good, good.” They set down their bag, the blue sheen of their nearly black hair catching the light. Liquid ink once again, it always caught Verun’s eye.

“So, what did you bring along today?” She pushed herself up with a quiet groan and took a glance at their bag, watching as they unpacked the usual - chessboard, the book they’d been reading together, and some snacks that Tinya had probably made with Gen. But then they pulled out a small, long, rectangular case. The handle on it clacked as they pulled it from the bag, the delicate silver filigree decorating the plain black simple but impressive.

Tinya watched her eyes follow the case with curiosity and gave her a grin. “You said that you play flute, right? Or you did at some point?”

“Y-yeah, I did. But that was years before even the plague, I haven’t played since I was a kid!” She felt rather apprehensive all of a sudden, staring at the thing. If the flute inside was anything like the outside, it had to have been horribly expensive…

But Tinya only laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna ask you to play right now. I just thought that I’d bring it over and offer it. Maybe you can relearn, join me and Gen sometime. We usually just sing together, but if we had a flautist…”

Verun looked at them, feeling almost confused - where had this come from? “You and your sister sing?”

“Occasionally. It’s usually just street performances, something to brighten up the streets. What do you say? You don’t have to answer right now, but it’s just a thought.”

“I’ll…” She took in a deep breath. “I’ll think about it. Thank you, Tinya.”

And they grinned at her, sidled into the bed next to her with their book in hand. “No problem, lovely. Now, shall we continue this for now?”

~~~

But now she wasn’t hurting as much, and now she was free once more to sit up and kiss the living daylights out of Julian when she pleased.

Which she did. Often. Because he was warm and forgiving and his body craved her just as much as hers craved his own. He didn’t mind when she dug her fangs in, he whimpered and screamed his throat raw as fingers dug into her skin to pull her ever closer.

And he was beautiful, and every day she told him so, if only to see the way his face reddened with a blush before she took him into a dark corner, or their bedroom, or onto the kitchen table and told him again, in a way that involved less words.

But afterwards, the way she kissed that sweet little spot just underneath his ear and murmured a quiet ‘I love you’ was constant. The way it made him shudder and sigh contentedly made her smile, every time. Because the way he bent to kiss her properly, tongue sliding through her lips and over her fangs, was the perfect way to whisper it back to her when his throat was too sore to speak for the moment.

Now they were laying in the aftermath of a gentle lovemaking, Verun’s head resting on Julian’s chest with a happy smile gracing her lips.

“How long until they come back, do you think?” Her fingers traced his pulse, eyes following the trails of goosebumps that erupted over his skin.

“They haven’t even left yet and it sounds like you’re already missing the siblings,” Julian teased gently. “Give it a month or two, they said that Lilac usually brings her team around this time of the year so they’ll probably catch her.”

“It’s going to be a quiet month or two then,” she said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Quiet was something that had started to become an odd concept for her, with all the nights where the group dragged her along to their shenanigans together and filled her nights with laughter. Suddenly losing a third of the group would be… weird.

Julian chuckled quietly and pressed lips to her head. “You’re starting to sound like a proper member of the group, love,” and his voice sounded so happy, a teasing sort of pride, that she couldn’t help but grin.

She dug into his side until every inch of her skin was pressed up against him. “Well I’d definitely hope so with how much time I’ve been spending around all of you.”

He grinned and turned onto his side to wrap his ridiculously lanky limbs around her. “You are absolutely one of us now, my dear.”

And quietly, her heart glowed.

~~~

The siblings departed. Verun was there to see them off, with Julian and Aiku and Echo all gathered as well.

Tinya swept Verun up into a hug last, after doing the same to everybody else - even Julian, to a modicum of success. When they set her down again, they pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” they said with a wink. “Promise. Keep sir beanpole safe, alright?”

She blushed hard, ducking her head with a grin. “Of course, Tinya. Make sure you keep your sister safe.”

“But of course, Verun.”

And then Tinya and Gen had both waltzed up the gangplank of their ship, throwing last goodbyes and waved over their shoulders until they disappeared. Veruna and Julian were the ones to stay until the ship was gone from the harbor, shrinking on the horizon until it was gone from sight.

~~~

“Welcome to the Raven, stranger,” Aiku welcomed his sister with a grin, calling across the tavern with a wave of his arm. Tonight was something of an oddity, some time for the new pair of siblings to get to know each other better.

Akaira headed over with an irresistible smirk, sliding into the bench beside him. “Why hello there, strangers. Ilya.”

Julian nodded to her, pressing a kiss to Verun’s hair. Echo pressed in on her other side, her eyes wide and caught on Akaira’s features. “Oh wow, you can really see the family resemblance!”

“You really can. So how have you been doing,  _ Lady _ Akaira?” Julian smiled a little, a teasing expression.

“Just Akaira in these parts,” she said slyly. She was wearing more common clothes, though with her beauty she seemed just as ethereal as ever. “Verun, how have you been doing? I heard that you got hurt.”

Verun frowned a little. No one outside of the group really knew, unless Aiku had been telling her about his new vampire friend - which was something they had agreed they would keep within the group. “Yeah, I took a hit recently. But I’ve been fine, a healer helped me out some.”

“That’d be my sister,” Akaira put out. “Aldafa. Adopted, I suppose - she tends to stay out of the city, so it was quite the surprise when she came to me to tell me that you had gotten hurt so badly.”

“Sister?” Julian raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you had one of those.”

“You can say that we generally have a tense relationship.”

Aiku huffed a laugh. “Do I need to beat someone up, Suna?”

“Only if you want  _ your _ ass beat, dear brother of mine.” Akaira patted his shoulder with a smirk. “Trust me, I trained with her. Unless you  _ somehow _ catch her off guard, which, good fucking riddance - there’s no way you’d walk out of that fight without some help.”

“Aldafa…” Verun stared at the table, thinking of the massively tall woman that she’d found just outside her door before being attacked. She couldn’t really think of someone like her being a sister to the woman sitting in front of her. “How did you know about me in the first place, Akaira?”

“I just have a lot of contacts around the city.”

“Enough that… how long did it take you to know about me?” Verun couldn’t meet her eyes, her gaze drifting off to the side. “I tried to keep it quieter…”

“It took me about three months from when you started feeding on people, honestly. It’s kind of hard to keep word of a vampire down when they start attacking citizens.” Akaira shrugged simply. “But it was nice to hear that you weren’t killing anyone. So I danced around it with Lucio until I started running into random commoners in the palace, and then I kept it vague. Until the who and the where came out, and eventually the rumors were going to reach him in other ways, so I told him.”

“And then we dropped into the palace anyways,” Verun said with a frustrated sigh. There was no way that she would be able to keep her identity hidden, if someone like Akaira had found it so easily - though the woman seemed to be rather… skilled, in many ways.

Echo cleared her throat. “Eh, oh well. Things have worked out so far, right? And I’m getting closer to solving your little memory problem, Verun!”

“Memory problem?” Akaira raised an eyebrow. “What memory problem?”

“Well… apparently me and Verun were uh… a thing, before the plague. We think that the vampires that turned her wiped her memory of the people closest to her, and.” Julian swallowed nervously, shaking his head. “Well, it seems that something happened to me, and I don’t have any memories of her either. The only one who knows anything about us is Asra.”

“Interesting…” The blonde hummed curiously.

And then Aiku spoke up. “Well, drinks, anyone?”

“Please,” Echo said with a grin.

Julian shrugged. “Just some ale for me.”

Aiku stood up. “Akaira, anything for you?”

“Orange juice and rum, half and half for me.”

“Verun? Just lemonade again or…?”

“Surprise me,” she said with a sigh. “Just don’t get me anything gross.”

“Not a salty bitters, got it.” And the blonde man grinned at Julian before making his way over to the bar.

~~~

The night was alright. It felt slow without Gen there though, and less homey without the banter that Tinya provided. Verun could feel that all of them were missing the siblings.

No one addressed the quiet fear that they wouldn’t come back. Julian knew best how brutal storms could be around this time of year. But they kept silent about those fears, made conversation until it was appropriate enough to head home.

~~~

“Ah hah!” Echo threw herself down next to Verun on the bed, book held in her hands. “Found it!”

“Found what?” She looked down at the book the young woman held in her hands. Magic, obviously, but the language was only barely familiar to her. She could pick out a few words that were recognizable enough to her, but not quite enough to understand.

_ Memory, heart, dark. _

“Okay, so. This spell is supposed to be crazy powerful if done with enough magic users - I think it’s what the vampires used to wipe your memories. It’s possible that they’ve been doing this with as many long-time members as they can get to make sure that nothing can break it, so it will be hard to reverse the effects on you.” Echo pressed her finger to the page, reading the words between unreadable diagrams and scribbled notes. She read it for Verun, listing materials, steps, the way to properly focus your intent for the ritual. It sounded like it would be a hellish thing to pull off.

“How will… how will I be able to get this undone?” Verun let her face drop into her hands with a groan. “There were so many vampires in Asheliet, there’s no way-”

Echo laughed quietly, leaned into her side. The girl was shockingly warm against her cool skin. “Verun, don’t worry. Unfortunately for their evil master plans, we have an Asra.”

“An Asra for what?” The white haired magician himself stepped into the room, a couple of books held cradled in his arm. They were all hanging out in the shop while Echo and Asra did most of the research, and Verun took the time to rest and just spend time with friends.

Echo Jr. squawked from her place by the window. “Magic!” She screeched.

Asra chuckled. “Thank you, Echo.”

“Welcome,” both human and familiar chorused. It was creepy how they did that sometimes.

“But what kind of magic are we talking about? Did you find anything?” He sat beside Echo, and she draped herself over his shoulders with a wide grin as she showed him the same passage as she did Verun. “Oh… oh, yeah, that would make sense. That’s very powerful magic to reverse though, are you sure that we’d be able to do it on our own?”

“Well, I did find something about… oh, where’d it go?” She moved, sprawling out over Verun’s lap as she searched through the pile of books she’d left piled by Asra’s bed. “It was something on how being turned into a vampire will boost your magical abilities, and you know how sometimes some perpetual spells will infuse their power into the person’s own magic and stretch their capabilities further? Aha!”

Echo took the book back to Asra, and at all times she stayed close to her friends. That was one thing that Verun was quietly envious of, her ability and utter willingness to be so close to people so often.

“So, between you, me, Verun, and I think I caught Akaira having conversations with a little fox that was tucked into her shirt if she’s willing, we should be able to break it. Not to mention that now that Verun is aware of what’s happening to her, it should be easier to break the bond that’s keeping her memories locked up!”

Asra glanced at Echo, and then Verun, looking rather impressed. “That all makes sense, but Verun… how many vampires do you think could have been part of the ritual?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know… a dozen, maybe more. If I remember correctly, that’s about the number of vampires that had the most powerful magic.”

“And how powerful do you think they are?”

Again, a shrug. “I’m not sure. I never saw them actually use their magic outside of small, mundane things.”

He hummed. “Well, I suppose all we can do is try. Echo, if you leave that book open for me I can translate it for those who will need it.”

“Alrighty! For now, you guys want to go down to the marketplace, get something to eat? I’m craving those little omelets this one vendor was serving, those were  _ delicious.” _ Echo melted into the pillows piled up in the bed with a groan. “They were so good…”

Asra smiled. “Well, I’m good to go. Verun?”

“Yeah, sure. I can come along.” She’d have to hunt tomorrow night, though.

~~~

A week before Gen and Tinya returned, they attempted the ritual in the main floor of the shop, the night of a new moon as it called for. Asra, Echo, Akaira, Verun - she’d even met the woman that was apparently Akaira’s sister. Aldafa didn’t talk much, but she agreed to help after Verun had gotten so grievously injured for her.

They all sat in a tight circle, Verun at the center. White lines of chalk and a strange grey powder were drawn around her, and as she crossed her legs to sit down she could feel the power buzzing around her.

Here in this room, the most powerful magicians of Vesuvia were gathered. This ritual had a lot of potential to go wrong - but if it did, Asra had already set up wards to keep any potential damage to the shop to a minimum.

Echo was the one to lead, surprisingly. Asra had insisted. So the rest of the group took up the tendrils of power that she led through their conjoined hands, and as Verun felt the magic float towards her with an intangible breeze through the lines around her she grabbed onto them mentally. Those lines of magic were pulled taut, from Verun to every individual person in the circle.

Wordlessly, they all surged together. The power around her became almost unbearable, the hairs on Verun’s body all standing on end, even the hairs of her scalp raising with the force of it.

And then Echo uttered a word, an ancient thing filled with power.

_ Release. Release. _

The rest of them joined up the chant, barely whispers on their lips. Verun felt something in her slip just slightly, and she snatched at it desperately - she wanted to remember what it was like to be a childhood friend to Asra, to Julian. She wanted to know what those days were like for herself.

_ Release. _

** _Release._ **

There was a bright flash of light and her hold on the spell faltered - the lines around her, of chalk and grey powder seemed to burn before disappearing completely.

And the unbearable feeling of so much magical power gathered into one room dissipated. Echo was the first to speak up.

“Did it work? Verun, can you remember anything new?”

But Verun could only shake her head - nothing was new. As she shuffled through everything that she knew mentally, there were still the same blank walls that she came across when she had tried to overcome before. Disappointment wrapped around her throat, strangling. So much effort, so much power poured into it, only to have it fail.

“I’m sorry guys,” she murmured. “I guess it didn’t work.”

Akaira scootched closer, patting her back. “Hey, it’s alright. We tried, and we can try again some other time, try to figure out what didn’t work.”

“That’s the strange thing, though,” Asra said, his fingers brushing the rough stone of the shop floor where the lines he had laid out had once been. “It seems like it did work. I don’t understand why it wouldn’t have, it definitely felt like we pushed through… right? Maybe her memory just needs something to trigger it.”

Ranger came out of the shadows, leaning against Verun’s side reassuringly.  _ Either way, it will be fine. Being without memories isn’t the worst thing, especially if you are happy now. _

Verun nodded, put an arm over her familiar’s back. “Yeah, you’re right, Ranger. I just… wish that I didn’t waste your guy’s time.”

“It wasn’t a waste,” Aldafa stated, standing as smoothly as ever. Her mismatched eyes glinted in the low light. “If you need my help again, feel free to call on me.”

It still felt strange, to have so many people who seemed just fine about doing things for her,  _ with _ her. Verun felt as if she should be repaying all of them for their participation, but… well, the way Echo started chattering to Akaira made it seem as if she was having a blast. She sat there, barely moving, watching as Aldafa gathered her things and left. Asra moved over to sit beside her, and Verun raised a hand to the small of his back, her fingers curling into his shirt.

“I’m tired,” she murmured.

He smiled, leaned against her shoulder. “Yeah. That ritual is… interesting. Some require more ambiance than others, but this one seemed deceptively simple.”

“Quiet, a dark night, a minimum of chanting… I’m pretty sure most people would say that it was a sham,” Verun said with a small smirk. She was surprised how easily the banter came to mind, after everything.

Asra laughed with a small nod. “We’ll have to wait until the next new moon to try again. But we can use that time for further research, make sure that we have everything in proper order next time.” And he raised a hand to her face, fingers brushing carefully across her cheek. “Either way, I’m really happy that you’re here still, Verun. It… it was hard, after the plague.”

“Yeah…” She sighed, leaned into his hand, and closed her eyes. “For now, we should all probably head to sleep, huh?”

“Sleepover?” Akaira gave a wide grin.

Echo grinned, launching herself to her feet before almost immediately falling on top of Akaira. Still, she lifted her head with a loud laugh. “Heck yeah! I call the bed!”

“That’s my bed, Echo,” Asra said with a smile of his own.

“‘That’s my bed, Echo,’” she parroted back at him, her voice sounding eerily like his for just a moment before switching back to her own. “Oh well, you like sharing the bed anyway! We can probably all pile in.”

Akaira glanced at Echo. “Well that’s creepy. Guess that’s why they call you Echo?”

“Mmmmhm. Now, to bed?” The girl held her hands up, looking at them expectantly.

Verun huffed slightly. “Yeah. To bed.”

She ended up squashed between Echo and Asra, while Echo clung securely to Akaira. It was… surprisingly comfortable, and much more relaxing than she thought it would be, despite how cramped they all were.

Verun was asleep in moments once they all settled, hoping for a night without dreams.

~~~

“You look beautiful, Verun.”

It was hazy, and Verun was pretty sure that she was drunk as her vision swam. But she recognized Asra, in a stunning dress that subtly shimmered in the light of a thousand candles, standing probably a little too close for comfort. He didn’t look like himself, it was hard to tell with his hair covered in dark blue glitter and with his face covered with a lovely mask, but part of her instinctively knew who he was.

And then he was leaning closer, and she had to keep from tilting her head back too far and - oh, his lips were soft. Softer than velvet. It was only a brief press of his lips but she wanted more, and she almost said so before a passing person bumped into her, sending her stumbling into Asra. He caught her with a soft laugh.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “I couldn’t help myself… oh, you- you’re pretty drunk, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, who are you?” Verun giggled. “That was my first kiss, you know, it’s pretty rude of you to steal that.”

She couldn’t see, but she knew that his cheeks were darkening. “Let’s uh, let’s get out of here, huh? Let’s go home, aunt Julie is gonna be worried.”

But aunt Julie was dead, wasn’t she? Verun tried to shake her head, to move away - but her body wouldn’t respond the way she wanted it to, and she followed Asra along.

“Wait, hey, that’s pretty shady,” she slurred, leaning against his shoulder. “Taking a girl home after stealing her first kiss. You got a thing for virgins or something?”

“I- Verun, no. It’s me, Asra.” He lifted the mask away just enough for her to see his face, and she blinked.

“Oh. Huh. Okay.” She laid her head on his shoulder with a sigh. “Well, I’m glad that… that it’s you. There’s not really anyone else that I’d like to be my first kiss, yknow?”

He sighed, leaning his head against hers and dusting her orange hair with dark blue glitter. “Thank you, Verun.”

~~~

Memories had been coming back to her like that. Through dreams. Through wanderings of her mind, when she spaced out too much during the day and suddenly she would be hit with a random occurrence that had happened years ago.

By the time that Tinya and Gen got back, she was starting to remember some of the hijinks that her and Asra had pulled with Julian, though the man in question stayed rather… confused with their stories. But he was  _ very _ amused with the way they told them. Sometimes headaches would hit him, seemingly triggered by the disturbed memories, and Verun would have to lead the topic away.

Riley was with the group when the siblings got back. He looked worried, almost like he was about to puke - shifting from side to side and his eyes flickering everywhere as if he was hyper-aware of every gaze that landed on him.

Verun touched her fingers to his arm and he froze. “Calm down,” She murmured.

He didn’t look very reassured, but he grunted and gave a nod as the gangplank was lowered.

Tinya was the first off the ship, bounding down the gangplank and into Julian’s embrace first. Verun was pulled into it, laughing as both of them seemed to try to squeeze the life out of her.

“Ah, I missed this little undead firecracker,” Tinya said with a grin, their hand patting Verun’s hair. “How have you guys been? Has beanpole man been good to you?”

“Yes, yes, we’ve been fine.” She laughed, shoving a hand at their chest. “How about you? Did everything go okay in Horamorad?”

“It went  _ splendidly, _ darling. It was nice to return home for a bit.”

Julian chuckled, squeezing both of them tightly. “Good. I’m glad that you had a good time. Were you two able to fine-”

“INCOMING!” It was Gen’s voice calling over the rabble, and the three of them broke apart to see a blur of red and orange clothing suddenly come crashing into Riley.

He stumbled back, his eyes wide and surprised as he froze under the impact. His arms seemed to hang in the air for a moment in shock before they fell around the person who currently had their face buried against his shoulder, shaking. And then tears gathered in his eyes as he watched two girls walk down the gangplank together.

Verun was surprised - one girl looked like his exact opposite, with pale lavender hair and even paler blue eyes, moving with an ethereal grace that was at complete odds with her shaking hands. And the other walked tall and proud, fire in her amber eyes as they approached the two, all of them wrapping arms around each other.

“Should we give them a bit?” Aiku stepped in close as Echo squealed quietly. “I dunno, a busy pier isn’t exactly a place for lengthy reunions…”

“Give them a moment, Aiku,” Verun stated. “Riley probably isn’t going to be able to move for a little bit.”

When Gen came down to meet them as well, she gave a glance over her shoulder to the four and grinned. “And everybody gets their happy endings, unless something has gone horribly wrong while we’ve been gone.”

Julian pulled the blue-haired woman closer to hug her securely. “We’ve all been fine, Gen. Tinya told me that everything went well in Horamorad.”

“Delightfully so, really. When we told the three of them that Riley was in Vesuvia it was a tear fest, but otherwise… everything went smoothly.”

“Good.” And then he pulled Verun closer, tucking her against his front so that he could rest his chin on her head. “I guess we should move that crew somewhere else for now, though. Mine and Verun’s place? It should be roomy enough for all of us.”

Aiku grinned. “You got booze at your place, Jules?”

The doctor sighed. “Of course.”

“Then that’s a yes.” He stepped forward. “Hey loverbirds! Come with us!”

Riley lifted his head, eyes already somewhat red and puffy. “Where?”

“To Jules’ place, we’re gonna have a welcome home party.” Gen called over to them with a grin. “Come join us, it’ll be a good time.”

He looked down at the rest of his group, his eyes specifically resting on the girl with lavender hair. She gave a nod and a small smile and he shrugged, eyes gliding over all of them with that wary look he always wore. “Alright. We’ll join.”

“Riley, who’re your friends?” The other guy standing with him stepped back, wiping his eyes. He flashed the rest of them a brilliant smile even with his orange eyes glinting with tears still. “Obviously we know Gen and Tinya, but who’s the rest of the crew?”

“I…” Riley shifted on his feet, obviously uncomfortable. “I don’t really have any friends here-”

“Yeah, yeah, you always say that. ‘Contacts’ count as friends, ya doof.” The girl with brown hair nudged his shoulder, rolling her eyes. “Now come on, introduce us.”

But he still hesitated for a moment, before Verun surprised herself and stepped a bit closer. She could see the way Riley stiffened up, purple eyes snapping to her, before she waved a hand.

“I’m Verun. This is Julian, Aiku, and Echo,” she said, gesturing to each one in turn.

“Well…” The other guy piped up, his hand wrapping around Riley’s. “I’m Kasten. Anger child is Maru, quiet one is Lilac. I…” Then his eyes narrowed, and Verun stiffened as he stared into her eyes - she hadn’t been covering them with glamour recently, not since everybody already knew who she was already. “Oh, I guess you’re a vampire? That’s cool.”

Everybody present was silent for a few seconds. Verun’s group already knew the problems around it, Riley’s entrance as a vampire hunter and her own hatred of the fear around her kind.

But then Echo started laughing. “Wow, I’ve never heard anyone be so casual about it! Come on, let’s get to Julian’s house before we start swapping stories, cause  _ boy _ has it been crazy!”

Gen shook her head with a laugh of her own. “Understatement of the year, honestly. But yeah, let’s head out.”

Riley looked awfully anxious, looking between his group and Verun every few seconds. She understood the feeling, really. But something in her stilled the awful fluttering in her chest, made her smile as Julian and Tinya found their way to either side of her.

Six months after the vampire hunter attacked her - five months after Tinya had rejoined a recently expanded group - and they were all going to go have some sort of party at the house she shared with Julian.  _ Her _ house, her home now. It filled her with an unexpected warmth as she leaned against Julian’s shoulders, tears springing weakly to her eyes before she blinked them away.

~~~

Watching the way Riley moved around with the three from Horamorad was rather interesting, at least to Verun.

After knowing him as a child, after seeing him as a hunter and a prisoner and then an unwilling palace servant, it was weird to see the way he smiled so easily was… strange, in a way. She was happy for him, happy to be able to see the way he glowed with that internal light that she had been learning from Julian.

It was odd to think that she had been with the doctor for a year now - more? Possibly. She’d grown so familiar with him, trying to remember how long it had been was almost hard to do. Especially with how lost she had been in those early times, when the only reason she had to count the days was to know how much time she had before she had to feed. The days had always passed in an odd rush. One twothreefour  _ five. _ Five would always be the doomed day where she had to take a victim, leave them weak and helpless.

She sighed and leaned into Julian’s side. Despite all that it still sometimes felt as if she was still learning how to be human, even with all the love and support he gave. Despite everything that their  _ group _ gave as a whole.

But Riley… Riley was different. He simply  _ melted _ around his people. He laughed quietly when Kasten cracked jokes, he pulled Maru closer with a shyness borne of the time spent apart, he nearly blushed when Lilac left a kiss on his cheek.

So in love. So hopeful now that he had gotten the people he loved most back.

Verun stood up, called over to him. “Hey Riley, can I talk to you?”

“Huh?” Purple eyes blinked, turned to her before he gave a nod. “Yeah, sure.”

She led him away from the others, the packed front room and into the much quieter hallway. Still in view of the others - she didn’t intend to take very long.

“Riley, I… I’m really glad, that you have your people back.” She looked down at her hands. “I know that I still can’t reverse what I am, but I- maybe it’s foolish, but I hope that we can be friends again, someday.”

He leaned against the wall opposite her, arms folded over his chest. Still as defensive-looking as ever, though the pose didn’t look so harsh now. “I’m sorry, Verun. For attacking you in the first place. And for threatening Julian. For everything, really.”

“I… thank you.” She thought back on the feeling that had ripped through her when she stood in that side alley, Julian at her feet and Riley’s sword leveled at her throat. He could have taken her life right there, but she knew that there was some hesitation from him. Riley didn’t have friends, not like other people did. He had contacts, informants, useful people at the very least. But despite his reluctance, there were still people that he cared about, and at one point or another Verun had been one of those people.

Maybe she could be again, at some point.

“We don’t have to say anything about how we met up again,” she said carefully. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t need this party getting tense because of that stuff.”

“Might trigger your bloodlust?”

His voice was so flat and dry, she flinched at the tone. “I… ah, hope not. I’ve been better about that-”

“Sorry.” He raised a hand with a frown, plucking at the neckline of his shirt. “I’m… not good at jokes. Kasten…”

She looked up at him, eyes wide. “R-Riley?”

“What?” He met her gaze only for a moment before looking away, obviously embarrassed. “Kasten’s joking moods are infectious, I’m just not good at making jokes.”

Verun started laughing. She couldn’t help it. They came from her belly, making her chest heave as she tried to take in breaths, but she couldn’t stop once she started. She bent over with her guffaws, tears in her eyes, and ah. She felt human, at least for a moment. Riley truly did have an incredibly awful way of making jokes.

“H-how do you even-” She wheezed, heard Riley give his own chuckle. “Dude, you scared- hah! You scared the  _ shit _ out of me for a moment!”

“How does that work?” He was smiling, she could hear it even while she was doubled over still. “The great vampire of Vesuvia, scared of me?”

“S-see now  _ that’s _ a better joke!” Verun finally pulled herself together, sucking in great heaves of breath. “God, you’re so weird. Joking about my bloodlust in such- such a tone, I thought you were serious!”

Riley smiled, shrugged. “Again, I’m not good at jokes.”

Verun was about to reply when Tinya came shuffling over. They were drunk, obviously, as they grinned and threw their arms around her shoulders with a dark-sounding chuckle of their own.

“You’re really, really cute when you smile, you know?”

She threw Riley a look and he shrugged in return before stepping out and away from the two of them. “Tinya, how much have you even had to drink?” She smiled good-naturedly. Tinya had been drunk around her before, especially before they and Gen had left.

“A bit…”

“You wanna lay down for a bit, then?”

They hugged her tightly, head nuzzling against her neck. “Only… only if I get cuddles.”

“From me?”

“Mhm.”

“I’m afraid that I’m not a very good cuddle partner, I can’t exactly keep you warm, Tinya.”

“Tha’s okay. It’s you, n you’re cute.”

She let out a small laugh. “Tinya, you’re so drunk.”

“But not… not drunk enough to keep me from doing this!” They exclaimed, raising their hands to frame her face before drawing back just a little, enough to press their lips to hers. But they were smiling too much, and Verun was still caught in a laugh and it was a clack of teeth mostly, before they mumbled something indecipherable and adjusted, kissing her properly.

And Verun was almost left in a daze when they pulled back. She glanced over their shoulder to see Julian watching, a surprising smile on his face, almost encouraging.

Had he… planned this?”

Either way, she had a drunk Tinya on her hands. She rolled her eyes, gave them a peck on the lips, before pulling them back to the party and onto one of the free couches. No one really gave them any mind, as they all hung out and chatted. No one paid attention as warm fingers wiggled their way just barely under the edge of her shirt, resting innocently at her sides as Tinya rested their head on her chest and sighed happily.

Julian came over a few minutes later, when their friend had started falling asleep on top of her. He sat on the floor beside them, tilting his head onto Verun’s shoulder.

“Are you happy, Verun?”

“Yes,” she murmured, and was pleasantly surprised to find that she meant it.

He smiled, took one of her hands to kiss her palm. “Good,” he murmured. “And… sorry about Tinya, they went a bit overboard, huh?”

“Only a little.” She smiled. “I’m… I’m surprised.”

“They’ve been pining after your for a while, I think.”

“Really?” Verun was honestly shocked.

Julian nodded. “Yeah. I only found out when you got injured, that last time. We talked while you were asleep at some point, and- Verun, if you think that-”

“I won’t be choosing between you two, Julian.” She whispered the words, intertwining their fingers. “And I hope you don’t expect me to do so.”

He smiled up at her, and she knew that was probably exactly what he had planned to do. But his hand tightened around hers. “You sure? I’m almost positive that there are plenty of other people to love you, Verun. You could do a lot better than a man like me.”

“I’d beg to differ.” This time, she lifted his hand to her own lips, let them graze his skin. “Not many people can deal so well with my fangs.”

Julian chuckled, though she could see the way his pupils dilated just slightly. “Well, I suppose you’re right…”

“There’s not too many masochistic people with a magic mark that makes them heal immediately.” Verun smiled back at him. “And there’s not too many people that I can say I really love, Julian. Don’t forget that, please.”

His blush spread all the way to his ears, down his neck, and Verun could feel her stomach clench. It didn’t come with the dread of shame now though - with Julian, she knew she was free to hunger after him. He didn’t fear her, not like others did. His body could keep up with hers, and he welcomed it.

“I love you too, Verun. I really… I really, really do.”

She smiled back at him, heart in her throat. Sometimes she still felt so fragile with those words in her mouth, but the way he smiled when he said it…

Well, he had always been the stronger out of the two of them, in that way.

Verun closed her eyes for a few moments before letting her head tilt over until it met his. Julian gave her a gentle nudge and she heard him sigh.

“You really like Tinya, don’t you?” She murmured it to him and Julian froze for a moment, before giving a small nod. “I noticed when we first got together. You got horribly blushy around them when they barged into the house that first time.”

Julian laughed quietly. “I’ve been told I’m horribly transparent when it comes to stuff like that.”

“Mmmmhm.” A moment passed as they watched Echo try to tease Maru into taking a sip of her drink, ending with the other girl taking a gulp and giving a wordless shout, yelling about some sort of hot sauce. “Julian, do you want to try adding Tinya into our relationship?”

He looked up at her. “Do you think you two are close enough?”

“I don’t know. We’ve… definitely improved since they came back into the group.”

“Yeah, but that…”

“It’s not much, I know. But… I really don’t mind them. And I want you to be happy.”

“Verun, you don’t have to-”

“I know. Trust me, I know. It’s pretty hard to force me into something that I don’t want.” She gave him a dry smirk and he smiled in return, rolling his eyes. “But it kind of seems like you want your own chance with them. And I’m not going to get in the way of that, and if they have some sort of crush on me… well, it seems like a weird sort of love triangle. But it doesn’t have to be like that, if you want.”

Julian took her hand, sighing. “I… I would like that very much, Verun. If you’re sure about this.”

“I’m  _ sure, _ Ilya. Trust me.”

He laughed. “Just checking, my dear.”

“Doof.” She squeezed his hand tight, smiling. “I love you.”

“You know my answer to that, love.”

~~~

It only took a minimum of discussion to get their arrangement figured out, later on. And though some small, possessive part in Verun stuttered when Tinya pulled Julian’s face down to kiss him senseless, she felt a wave of warmth wash through her. Especially when they squeezed the vampire between them and laughed as she groaned and squeezed them in return, until both of their backs cracked.

They only laughed, joking that she was perfect for relieving pressure.

So most nights it was warm, unbearably so, and Verun couldn’t believe how lucky she was.

~~~

Riley’s team unofficially became part of the group, and for the most part it was a flawless transition. Verun assumed that he told them of what had happened, but for the most part everything stayed the same.

She found that Lilac was probably her favorite to hang out with - the girl didn’t talk much, and when she did, it was soft and everyone had a habit of quieting down to hear her. Verun had the feeling that Lilac also understood the feeling of wanting to avoid the spotlight.

And these days, sometimes Asra came out to join them at the Rowdy Raven. So did Akaira, though more rarely as her and Lucio apparently moved forward with their relationship and the Count got… surprisingly clingy. They all joked about it in some form or another, though Aiku was quick to end any discussions that turned more raunchy. For his ears, he begged, he didn’t need to hear theories on his sister’s sex life.

Verun had never actually seen the guy blush before, for any reason. And she hadn’t laughed until she cried in a while, either.

~~~

It wasn’t until she had Tinya leaning into her lap, Julian’s arm wrapped around her shoulder as she watched Gen and Echo dance together that she realized.

She’d made it.

After everything, Verun had survived. Her face and her tattoos were no longer covered by cloths or makeup or glamour, and she had found friends and more. She’d made Riley smile in one way or another, she’d crawled into a place that felt perfect for her between her lovers.

She’d made it.

  
She had  _ made _ it, finally. She was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it... seriously, a huge thanks for everyone who left kudos and comments, or came and reached out to me on tumblr. I wasn't expecting to get so invested in something that was based on a vampire AU since I'm generally so uninterested in vampire stuff but this was... seriously, such a blast to actually get through.
> 
> Also, just so people know - I do accept small prompts, if you want to see more from Verun or really any of my characters. Whether you leave comments or send something in on tumblr, I'd love to hear more from any interested parties. (I'm also down to write some more side stories based on any characters if anyone is interested in seeing them - I have a whole bunch of backstory for like... really everyone involved in this story, lmao)

**Author's Note:**

> Come scream to me at @the-only-universe-here on tumblr, I beg.


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